Stagnant
by jayjang2
Summary: Naruto is struggling to step out of the friendship zone while Sasuke is shoving all things feelings at the back of his mind. Itachi is an all knowing god who knows more than he should but he doesn't mind.
1. Autonomy

**Stagnant**

Sasuke can still remember the first time Naruto thought it would be a great idea to take over Sasuke's ability to decide for himself. It was in a science lab class that they shared during their second year in college. The professor asked the class to break themselves into pairs. Usually, Naruto pairs up with Kiba or Shikamaru while Sasuke ends up being paired with the upperclassman Neji or Sakura – but apparently, not that day… or any other days, thereafter.

Sakura, who is seated on Sasuke's right turned to him, ready to ask whether he wanted to work together as partners for their lab class but before he can answer his assent, Naruto appeared beside him from the other side of the room, an arm readily draped around Sasuke, a smile too bright faced Sakura.

"Sorry sweetheart, but this one's taken"

Sasuke looked at the blond, amused by the fact that Naruto, the blond haired blue eyed idiot who has a huge fuckin' boner for Sakura since day one is turning her away so he could be partners with his bastard best friend of since when he can't remember. Naruto is innocently beaming at Sakura as the girl looked at Naruto suspiciously before sighing.

"Oh, okay…" Sakura sighed again as she turned away to look for another partner.

Sasuke elbowed Naruto on the ribs causing Naruto to withdraw his arms from Sasuke's shoulders and went to straddle the empty chair in front of Sasuke's desk.

"Was that some kind of a payback to her for turning you down?"

"Nope, anything wrong with wanting to work with you?"

Sasuke raised a brow at that knowing fully well that in the past, Naruto almost never wants to partner with him in class because he is such a kill joy. The blond is a firm believer that group projects are composed of 90% goofing off and 10% studying which is why he always works with Kiba who shares the same principle or Shikamaru who sleeps through everything but always ends up having impossibly high grades.

"Besides, it's not like you're ecstatic to work with her" Naruto added.

"What if I am? She actually gets work done, you know"

They both know Sakura is the 'better' partner compared to the blond. She's smart and the professors love her.

"Can you hear yourself? And then what, you'll complain to me that all she ever did was look at you like a fuckin' Greek god?"

Sasuke smirked a bit because it's true. "And you're the expendable slave"

"What? No. I'm definitely Hercules"

Sasuke shook his head with a small smile. Working with Naruto sure is troublesome but he can endure a little touch of idiocy for a reasonable amount of entertainment. And besides, they make a pretty good team.

Looking back, it never bothered Sasuke that Naruto is starting to get a hold of his schedule even though it means sacrificing a bit of his alone time to socialize with Naruto's friends more.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto shouted from their college building entrance. The dark haired boy stopped and looked back to see Naruto running towards him with a big smile on his face.

"Hmm?"

"Where the hell are you going?" Naruto asked incredulous as if going home early from school is a shameless crime

"Home…?"

"Yeahhh… No. You're coming with us"

"Who's us?"

"Them" Naruto gestured behind him where he can see Kiba talking animatedly to some girls, and a group of guys they share some classes with.

Naruto might be Sasuke's best friend but he never thought of forming some sort of bond with the blond's group of friends. Some of them are loud and annoying and he knows his limit for people who are loud and annoying in his life is one. This is especially true with Kiba who keeps on grating on his nerves and the guy never talks to him directly. He told the blond as much and Naruto just laughed telling him to just tune him out if it bothers Sasuke too much to hear Kiba talk.

Naruto always tells him stories about his friends, on how Ino always tells them the latest gossips and Sai's weird fixation on dicks but claiming that he's straight. About Neji's philosophical destiny shit and Shikamaru's secret obsession with Gaara's sister, Temari. Hearing Naruto talk about his friends like that makes him a bit curious but he never tells Naruto about it.

"Why?"

"Because you want to. Now let's go!"

As usual, Naruto draped an arm around him and dragged him towards the group. Sasuke can't help but feel uncomfortable, yet, one reassuring look from Naruto is all it takes to have him trying to get to know the group.

During one of their breaks, Sasuke almost threw a fit when Naruto invited him to lunch at a local diner and Naruto ordered in behalf of him without batting an eyelash or even asking him what he wants. By the time they got around to get a table Naruto hurriedly flagged the waitress as if in a hurry. The menu barely touched the Sasuke's hands when Naruto started talking.

"One Caesar salad, extra tomatoes and a chicken club sandwich, one burger deluxe, heavy on the onions and two lemonades please" Naruto looked at him smugly, looking proud of himself for his amazing display of Sasuke 101.

"What the fuck dobe? Can I at least choose?" Sasuke glared at Naruto.

The blond squinted at Sasuke's face before turning towards the girl adding, "And one large fries" He added with a smile.

Naruto looked at him expectantly. Sasuke passively threw the menu on the table and sat back with arms crossed on his chest. So what if that's what he's going to order anyway? Naruto got that right but it doesn't mean Sasuke will give him the satisfaction of knowing that he's right.

"Don't look so grumpy, grumpy. You want some frozen yogurt for dessert?"

Naruto waggled his eyebrows. Sasuke's eyes twitched in annoyance.

Damn.

This weird but welcome occurrence went on until they were in their senior year. And Sasuke kind of became dependent on Naruto's habit of deciding for both of them. Of course there are times when they engage in fist fights and indefinite cold wars when Naruto goes overboard. In that case, Naruto would stop bothering Sasuke for a week or two but will miraculously bounce back to how he was before the fight. It both relieved and bothered Sasuke that Naruto always takes the liberty to have some sort of reign over his life choices. Sasuke stopped thinking about the mixed emotions he was feeling a long time ago. It was of no use to think about things that'll further complicate his life.

One night, Sasuke had a fight with his older brother Itachi about their parents and he just needs time away from everything that hurts. He went to Naruto's apartment. Yes, it's Naruto's little home away from home but he might as well call it his own since more often than not, he stays there almost every day especially when Itachi is out of town.

Naruto opened the door looking partly confused due to the late hour and rainy weather. But one look at Sasuke's face and the blond is ready to throw his peaceful night of procedural cop show and beer away. Naruto got his jacket, checking his keys and cellphone before locking the door of his apartment.

"We're going home"

The blond said resolutely and while Sasuke began to internally panic.

"Naruto, I went here for a reason and that reason is because I don't want to stay home"

"Not there, baka"

They silently waited for the elevator to open and went to the parking lot where Naruto parked his Honda Jazz. It was a gift by his parents when they graduated from high school some sort of independence gift since he will be staying far away from their town to join Sasuke in college.

The blond was silently humming to himself as he started the ignition and music started to fill the car. It was some sort of a Billiards 100 playlist. Naruto sang through most of the songs even moving to the beat, constantly looking at Sasuke and urging him to sing. Sometimes Sasuke would indulge Naruto when the song is familiar enough for him to sing. He may not be as enthusiastic as the blond's attempt at belting out high notes but he tries.

Naruto's childhood home is a small bungalow located in a subdivision in Konoha just like Sasuke's. In fact, they're neighbors but the house that Sasuke lived in with his parents has long been sold after he graduated from high school when his parents migrated to Wave Country leaving him with his older brother Itachi.

Earlier that night, his parents talked to Itachi about Sasuke's plans after graduation, they want him to move in with them in Wave, something that left Sasuke conflicted. He doesn't want to move in with his parents and leave everything behind... leave Naruto. The idea is making him feel hollow. But the idea that it was his parents asking him to be with them is waking up a longing that he once felt as a child.

A warm hand touched his cold ones. He glanced at Naruto who is looking at the road. It was dark already and light from the street lamps are casting him in an orange glow. It was fascinating. He breathed deeply.

"Usuratonkachi."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

The blond squeezed his hand and went to turn off the ignition. They're in front of Naruto's parental house in Konoha. He hadn't realized that he dozed off during the ride.

"I wanted to visit since forever, who knew I just needed a push from you." The blond happily hopped out of the car and opened the front door with his spare key. "Moom! I've got a surprise!" He announced not caring if it's way past everyone's bed time.

Kushina's head popped out from the living room and welcomed them with bounce in her step and a warm embrace. Her long flowy hair is tied up in a ponytail - it kept on bouncing at her back from excitement as she gushed over his two grown up boys. Naruto got his enthusiasm from her that's undeniable

Kushina pushed them towards the kitchen where Minato is heating up some left over dinner. Minato is wearing some sort of white apron with pink frills along the edge. Sasuke can't help but imagine how Naruto would look like when he grows older because damn, Minato looks abnormally handsome in his mid-40's.

"Looking good, both of you" the older blond looked them over and Sasuke can't help but get caught up with the sincere look in Minato's blue eyes. It baffles him that Naruto got that same look in his eyes every time they look at him.

"Don't go falling for my dad, now, you know my mom's still alive right?" Naruto's staged whisper earned him a chuckle from his parents and Sasuke turned into a blushing mess. The dark haired boy backhanded Naruto's chest.

"Shut up"

They ate some left over lasagna from dinner and exchanged stories. Sasuke felt infinitely better as he indulged in a light banter with Naruto when he started making exaggerated accounts of what really happened in his stories. Both Kushina and Minato laughed and told them stories from they were younger as well. It was a bit unnerving that he can easily let his guard down in a family of choice rather than with his own family in blood. They treated Sasuke as family, like another son that they never had. It warms his heart at the same time it aches with longing from when his own parents actually gave a shit about their children.

After their impromptu midnight snack, Naruto and Sasuke volunteered to wash the plates.

Naruto is humming, yet again some pop song from earlier in the car while Sasuke's hands are buried in a basin of soapy water.

"Thank you…" The dark haired boy said, his eyes never leaving the plates he's currently scrubbing free of tomato sauce.

"It's nothing… You looked really spooked a while ago, now you look decent enough" Surprisingly, Naruto's voice is calm. The blond continued to wipe the washed plates and carefully stacked them in the cupboard.

"Hn. Decent huh"

Silence bounced off the kitchen walls, the sloshing water seems to be muted at the sound of stillness and words that are waiting to be said. Sasuke had half a mind not to tell Naruto that his parents are asking him to follow them in Wave. What good would it cause, what difference will it make? He's sure that Naruto will just up and tell him that he's happy for him and go on his merry way and go get himself a new best friend. But it's not fair, after Naruto brought him here and made him forget even just for a few hours. He owes him.

"Mom called... and they want me to follow them to…" Sasuke started and he felt Naruto stiffen beside him. It's funny how perceptive Naruto is of him... or maybe it is to be expected, they've known each other all their lives, it's bound to happen.

"Oh."

Sasuke chanced a glance at Naruto. The crease in his brow, the downward turn of his lips. He was reminded of that time when Naruto found out that Jiraiya, his grandfather died. It was a mixture of disbelief and hurt. It looks so foreign to Sasuke… he hates it.

"I don't want to" Sasuke meant the words to sound nonchalant, something dismissive but it turned out harder, frustration evident in his voice.

"Well… you miss them, right? Maybe they want to see you more often, my parents want to all the time… I mean, see me. Not you… but you too… sometimes"

Sasuke almost laughed at Naruto's attempt to explain. Sasuke knows how Naruto would react, he expected the encouraging words from the blond. But actually hearing it annoyed Sasuke more than the idea of flying to another country.

"They can try but I'm not leaving" It was harsh and his mother would be hurt hearing it coming from his sons mouth but it's the truth.

"Don't be like that, at one point you gotta…" The blond faced Sasuke fully trying to let him see reason that he may be making the biggest mistake of his life. Sasuke scoffed at that line of thought because what does the dobe know? He turned away from Naruto with a shrug.

"Hn."

Naruto should know what that dismissal means, it means that he's tired of listening to whatever you have to say and that he's a stubborn piece of fuck that wants none of your fucking shit no matter how pure your intentions are.

"Okay…" Naruto sighed and lets it go.

Again, silence enveloped them, except for the tinny sound of the utensils being placed in the drawers. Each lost in their own thoughts and neither wanted to break the quiet. Their hands methodically moving like they've done this for a thousand times. Sasuke wiped his hands on a kitchen towel as Naruto placed the last glass inside the cabinet. Sasuke started to walk away from the kitchen when he heard Naruto call his name, it was a soft uncertain sound that it made him stop but not enough to look at the blond.

"For the record, I don't want you to go"

Sasuke tightly closed his eyes feeling a heavy weight on his chest and when Sasuke took a moment too long to answer, Naruto started to panic because one thing you got to know about Sasuke, he has a knack of doing the opposite of what you want and Naruto is half afraid that even though Sasuke said he doesn't want to follow his parents to Wave, he'll change his mind just to spite him.

"Then, I won't go"

Sasuke still has his back facing Naruto but there is a lightness in his tone. Relief washed over Naruto when he combed his damp hands in his hair.

"Besides, who's gonna beat your ass at Mario Kart?" Sasuke smirked as he walked towards Naruto's room, the blond catching up to him.

They spent the rest of the night playing video games, munching on chips and sipping on several bottles of soda. Sasuke's parents forgotten for the time being.

Right after that weekend, Naruto stopped (tried to stop and is still trying to stop himself from) making decisions for Sasuke. It was quite disconcerting for Sasuke to be asked something as mundane as "Do you want to join us?" when usually Naruto will just drag him to every party he wants to attend to. Sometimes, Sasuke declines the invitation and Naruto will look at him with this big blue sad eyes like he just killed a puppy.

Whatever triggered this change of heart in Naruto, Sasuke is sure it has something to do with what happened during that night at the Uzumaki residence. At the forefront, he's a bit relieved that Naruto is trying to be more mature about the dynamics of their friendship but at the back of his mind, a seed of fear is planted carefully taking roots.

NOTES:

I so so so so apologize for the readers who read the first version of this story it was horrible with all the coding and all. I was not able to check that one since I was really in a hurry. I should have checked, I know, I know...:)

Made some minor edits for some grammatical errors.


	2. Pranks Not Dead

Chapter Summary: Naruto's age old defense mechanism kicks in.

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Notes:

Unbeta'd please tell me if there are any errors. Thank you!

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Naruto may seem confident most of the time, but insecurity is a dormant part of his system ready to wake whenever his guard is down. He can't understand it himself, only that he feels like people close to him are going to eventually leave. Sasuke said that it was because he was an only child who's too spoiled and too caught up in the illusion that people stay forever and throwing temper tantrums when they leave. It's true and it hit him real hard when his grandfather died, he was devastated. After Jiraiya's death, he had to agree with Sasuke when he said he's mistaking people for toys – If they're yours, you can have them for as long as you want and they don't leave you unless you don't want them anymore.

Naruto loves all of his toys very much.

So imagine the flood of emotions he felt when Sasuke said that his parents want him to follow them abroad. He felt like a ragdoll being shook back and forth by life in the middle of a thunderstorm. It suddenly occurred to him that he is far too invested with his friendship with Sasuke to feel unsurmountable relief when Sasuke told him that he'll stay in Konoha after Naruto said that he doesn't want him to go. The amount of blind trust he has with Sasuke in believing that he won't leave both comforts him and scares him.

That night, when Sasuke fell asleep after a night of video games and soda and sleeplessness. Naruto is ready to join Sasuke in his sleep full bliss. The blond was kicking the controllers and soda cans away from the mattress to create some place for him to lie on.

He happened to glance at Sasuke's sleeping form.

Curled onto his left, hugging one of Naruto's pillows, cheeks pressed against the mattress, hair falling over his eyes and nose. He looks abnormally handsome and it irked Naruto that he has to look at his friend's face and feel like tucking Sasuke's stray hair behind his ears, the act is too intimate. He does it anyway. He thumbed some of Sasuke's hair from his face and gently tucked it behind a pale ear only for the hair to fall back into his face.

During quiet moments like these when Naruto can openly look at Sasuke without care is when he indulges himself with thoughts of peppering Sasuke's face with kisses. Thoughts that leaves his heart beating fast from excitement and frustration. Because no matter how much he likes Sasuke for himself, he's not yet ready to cross that line yet. Naruto may be all for living for the moment but he knows not to rush with anything that involves Sasuke. Their time will come, he's sure of that.

Deep inside he just hopes for it to be true.

For now, he needs to give Sasuke space to move on his own. For the past years he's been too complacent in drawing satisfaction from Sasuke's friendship and tolerance to the point where Naruto often imposes himself with Sasuke's life's choices. It started as a means to test whether he really knows Sasuke like he thinks he does – from ordering Sasuke's food to buying him clothes to dragging him to parties. And whenever Sasuke approves or reassures him, pride blooms inside his chest. And when Naruto started to notice Sasuke asking for his opinion more often and leaning towards him more than before, becoming somewhat more dependent on him, he felt so happy. It was selfish but Naruto loved every second of it.

Naruto pulled away from Sasuke gradually. It started with pairing with Kiba or Shikamaru again like their earlier years in college and eating more with their group of friends instead of eating out the campus together during lunch. Whenever there are parties, Naruto would ask Sasuke whether he would like to join him as opposed to just dragging the dark haired boy wherever he goes. It kind of breaks his heart whenever Sasuke refuses to join him even for an hour but it's all for their own good.

Of course Sasuke noticed the change in Naruto and after a few weeks of confused silence, Sasuke confronted Naruto with as much subtleness he could muster. Sasuke figured out that Naruto is trying to distance himself from him, he can only guess that it's because he told the blond about the issue with his parents and their desire for Sasuke to join them. Naruto is preparing himself for when Sasuke eventually leaves for abroad. Sasuke finds this absurd because he's been clear with Naruto, Itachi and his parents that he's not going to leave. And if he changes his mind, he'll be doing it for his own intents and purpose, not because his parents just want him to.

Sasuke happened to catch Naruto from one of his classes and before the blond could go to their group of friends to avoid being alone with Sasuke, he backhanded Naruto's arms to get his attention.

Naruto's eyes widened like a child in awe and Sasuke can't help but smile a bit at that. But it doesn't matter because in a snap, the moment passed and Naruto scowled at Sasuke and Sasuke's face returned to its normal emotionless default. All throughout their walk towards the local diner, Naruto is huffing and grumbling to himself about unjust professors and failing his major due to cheating idiots.

The more Naruto babbled about it, the more evident it is that Sasuke caught Naruto in the wrong time. The blond is obviously in a bad mood.

Sasuke sat down on the booth and waited for Naruto to settle down. Naruto flagged down the waitress and read the menu before ordering for themselves. Sasuke can still remember the time when they were in this same booth two years ago and Naruto with twinkling eyes told Sasuke the benefits of chicken club sandwich to his health ignoring the fact that the blond was eating greasy cheeseburger with fries.

"Aren't you going to order for me?" Sasuke's eyes scanned the menu, seemingly interested in the set of food that he'd probably seen for a hundred times already. Before glancing over to Naruto on top of the menu he was holding. Naruto is looking out of the window lost in his own thoughts.

"You just did" Naruto squinted at him and huffed as he crossed his arms to his chest.

"Never stopped you in the past" Sasuke shrugged, a stray of black hair fell over Sasuke's face. It was a comment meant to sound condescending but ended up flat with lack of bite. Nevertheless, it still struck something inside of Naruto, something bitter and selfish.

Sasuke looked at him steadily and Naruto stared back with equal intensity. It's always fun to rile up an annoyed blond because he always rises to the bait unlike when Naruto is in a good mood where he's unusually optimistic, patient and bubbly that sometimes Sasuke wants to gag. But this blond in front of him is a pissed off blond who will take no shit from anyone, even Sasuke. And to Sasuke, this side of Naruto is as real as his soft side and as charming.

"Sasuke, stop" Naruto breathed deeply trying to calm himself because the sight of Sasuke's concern masked in the face of annoyance and indifference is making him more irritated at himself more than at Sasuke's goading.

"I just said that me, ordering something never stopped you from telling me what I should or should not eat or do or whatever"

As cool as ever, Sasuke managed to make it sound like a statement devoid of any emotional attachment. But the clenched fist in his lap says otherwise. Truth be told, he just misses Naruto's presence.

"And now, I don't. So what's your problem?" Naruto's voice is starting to raise earning them a few glances from nearby tables.

"Nothing at all. Thank you for giving me back my freedom"

Naruto balked at that. It was like being drenched with cold water. He never thought Sasuke would feel that way about the situation. Maybe along the way, he was too blind to see that Sasuke was just pretending to be happy for his sake. That Sasuke just tolerated him all this time because it's too troublesome to get rid of him.

"Sasuke, I'm -" Naruto was about to say sorry when their orders suddenly arrived and they fell into mutual silence as the waiter place their food on the table.

"Did I do something wrong? Is this because of my parents?" Sasuke continued as the intruder went away to another table. He's still looking at Naruto, brows creased with confusion and although he rarely talks about things like this, somehow, he can't help but continue on with the conversation.

"Sasuke, shit... No, it's not"

Naruto's hands are itching to grab the other's hand across the table, except that both of Sasuke's hands are on his lap probably clenched in a tight fist. Sasuke must have been really upset with him to up and talk about feelings and that thought eased Naruto a bit. Or maybe, Sasuke just wanted to annoy Naruto because that's something he's totally into.

"Did YOU do something wrong?" Sasuke's eyes sharpened at that idea and Naruto almost cringed at the intensity of impending torture directed at him.

"What? No!"

"Then why are you acting like this? First you act all chummy and all knowingly around me and throw a fit when I don't agree with you and now you're trying to avoid me, I can't understand"

"What do you want me to say Sasuke?"

Sasuke just stared at Naruto challengingly.

"Really Sasuke, here?" Naruto said gesturing to the lunch crowd in the diner.

"Afraid?" Sasuke just wants this to be over, he's been itching for Naruto's explanation since forever.

"Fine" Naruto hesitated for a moment but continued nonetheless. "Because it feels good Sasuke. It feels good to have you by my side and asking for my opinion and agreeing with me. It feels good to have some kind of influence in your life and it feels like a damn ego boost for me, it's addicting… But then that night when you went to my place and I brought you home… I just…! I realized I was just being selfish. I don't want to share you, okay? But I can't do that because you're you and we're not…"

Naruto started to run out of words at the middle of his speech realizing that he's not yet ready to let the things coming out from his mouth to be out in the open for the world, for Sasuke to hear. He's internally panicking but to hell, he's almost past the idea of embarrassment at this point, his mouth just took control of the conversation and spouted everything without filter.

"Naruto, what are you trying to say?" Sasuke stared at him in confusion, if there's anything he expected out of this conversation, it's not this. The blond is not making any sense and he doesn't want to process the meaning behind the broken sentences.

"Argh, I don't know. What I was supposed to say was that I'm giving you space" Naruto held his head, elbows on the table and head bowed down like a man defeated.

"You're not making any sense"

Naruto peered at Sasuke, fingers entwined at the back of his head.

The crowd around them is busy with their own businesses. The giggling of the group of girls at the far side of the diner sounds muffled with the muted static he can hear in his ears. Sasuke is in front of him, looking uncertain, trying not to shift too much in his seat. And if he said the things he said next, it was because he had a moment of bravery – he had a shitty morning, he's hungry but can't seem to want to eat and Sasuke is deliberately and effectively pushing his buttons. He deserves this moment of honesty.

"Fuck. What I… I mean. I'm afraid to get any closer to you because then - to me being closer means holding your hand and kissing you because look at you. You're a fucking asshole but I like you more than… and I don't know what to do about it because I don't know when I started feeling this way… If I ever felt anything else for you… so there"

"Naruto. What?"

Sasuke's eyes are wide like Naruto haven't seen before, his mouth slightly open and Naruto's traitorous mind supplied at how perfect it is for things other than talking. A kid tripped in front of their table and Sasuke pays it no mind. Naruto's moment of bravery left him as the boy wailed in embarrassment.

The shocked look in Sasuke's face will haunt him forever. Naruto knows Sasuke doesn't feel the same way, doesn't think about him in that manner. How he is sure of this, Naruto can't explain, he just knows. He wanted to run away from their table, he wanted to not show his face ever again but before he can do any of that, his mouth was moving again, asking things his mind hasn't had the chance to filter yet.

"Do you like me too?"

Naruto wanted to punch himself on the face upon hearing his own question. It was a question Naruto always imagined asking Sasuke during cold nights alone on his bed where he lets his imaginations run wild. To hear it now being asked in front of Sasuke and waiting for an answer aside from 'I've wanted you for the longest time, baby' like he always imagined Sasuke would say is downright terrifying.

"What?"

"Just answer me. Yes or no"

"Yes." Sasuke's answer is instantaneous. Because it's the truth, he likes Naruto but he's not just romantically or sexually inclined to the blond like how the blond phrased his intents to Sasuke. Saying no is out of the question because no matter how much of a pain in the ass Naruto is sometimes, he's family, he's comfort and he's happiness.

"Yes?"

"Of course, but Naruto, you can't just put me on the spot like this, you're my best friend and of course I like you… I don't want…"

Sasuke trailed off not knowing how to continue. His heart is pounding in his ears and he's regretting ever meeting Naruto that day and the forces of nature that pushed him to talk to him about feelings. All he wanted to gain out of this talk with Naruto is to reassure him that he won't go anywhere anytime soon.

"I got you there real good Sas. I like you too, very much" Naruto grinned a little too wide and enthusiastic. It was the fakest smile Naruto ever threw Sasuke but it escaped Sasuke entirely because he was busy with his own internal musings and struggling feelings to notice such change in Naruto.

Sasuke's face turned red as everything clicked in place. Naruto was playing with him and he stepped right into it without him realizing what's happening. He was such a fool and they call him a genius.

Sasuke glared at Naruto so hard Naruto backed off into his seat fearing for his life. Sasuke stood up and tipped the orange juice onto the table spilling its contents on Naruto before walking away. Naruto's uniform is drenched and sticky but doesn't care.

"Hey! Sasuke! Sorry, I'm sorry! Hey wait… I didn't, Sasuke! Fuck"

He hurriedly gathered his things to follow Sasuke out of the diner when one of the waiters blocked him demanding him to pay for their untouched food. Naruto shoved a couple of bills to the waiter before running after Sasuke but the dark haired boy is long gone. What's left of Sasuke is the guilt and regret Naruto feels all over his person.

The prank Naruto pulled on Sasuke earned him weeks' worth of cold glares and non-existent responses to any questions or actions from the dark haired boy. The blond himself is starting to think whether he exists in the same plane of existence with Sasuke because he might as well be a ghost if not for that one time when Sasuke accidentally bumped into him on the hallway due to heavy influx of students pouring out of their classrooms.

If Itachi had not took pity on him on the 3rd week mark of their cold war, Naruto might have endured months of nothing from Sasuke.

A light knock on the door made Sasuke pause from his research.

"Sasuke... Someone's looking for you" Itachi called from outside his room.

Sasuke's face scrunched up because he told his brother not to let Naruto in the house or take his calls or even talk to the blond. But Itachi is Itachi and Itachi does what he wants. His older brother developed some kind of fond attachment to Naruto and some other time, he'll feel an odd sense of contentment at that, except that at this moment, he's just pissed off. He thought Itachi will make Naruto suffer for at least a month as a consequence from his messed up prank.

"If that's Naruto, I told you-"

His bedroom door's lock clicked open despite the fact that he locked the damned door. After a moment, the door opened revealing a grinning blond with no trace of shame in his face whatsoever.

"Sasuke… Hey…" Naruto at least had the audacity to look sheepish at the sight of the annoyed looking Uchiha.

Sasuke stood up from his desk and went straight to Naruto pushing him out of his room. Naruto pushing Sasuke back with equal force.

"Sasuke, wait. I just got here"

Sasuke kept of pushing him out because no amount of pleading will Naruto get redemption from what he did to Sasuke. It was cruel for Naruto to plant the possibility of being more than friends at the forefront of his mind. Sasuke is not an idiot, nor is he ignorant. The pull he feels for Naruto is a silent buzz at the back of his mind though he never dissected any of it or even intentionally thought about entertaining the idea of something more than friendship.

Naruto placed something in front of him that greatly resembles a plant.

"I got you something!"

Sasuke inspected the plant placed inside a cardboard planter. It has tiny yellowish flowers on it.

"A plant. I'm thrilled. Now get out"

Naruto pouted at the deadpan expression on Sasuke's face which clearly said he is anything but thrilled by the plant.

"Not just _a_ plant, it's a tomato plant"

"Good try, idiot"

The both of them continued to push each other around its sort of ridiculous. Since Naruto is holding the plant he's using his shoulders to push at Sasuke. Their attempt at out pushing one another was interrupted by Itachi's call for dinner. Without another glance at Naruto, Sasuke went down to the dining area.

Upon entering the kitchen, the fragrant smell of rice and miso soup invaded Sasuke's nose. Sasuke's eyes glazed a bit at the idea of rice and hot soup, his mood lifted a bit.

"Surprise!" Naruto said from behind him happily.

Sasuke glared at Itachi who just smiled at him innocently. Naruto held up the potted tomato plant for Sasuke to take and add to his garden full of tomatoes. Each one from the blond for the other times he messed up and wants to make peace with Sasuke. It was cute the first time Naruto did it, but Sasuke swears the next 5 times Naruto gave him the same kind of plant was done just to annoy him.

"Urgh" Sasuke dragged one of the dining chairs and looked at Naruto pointedly. "This does not get you off the hook" Sasuke grumbled and took a seat in front of the table impatiently waiting for the two scheming traitors to sit down so they could eat.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically with wide innocent eyes. Then he whispered to Itachi, "Oh, it totally does"

Itachi sniggered and coughed to cover his amusement, because Naruto is right. They both know that Sasuke has a certain weakness for blond hyperactive Uzumaki's. They all sat down for dinner and with a light heart, Naruto happily ate with a smile plastered on his face.

Later that night, Sasuke retreated to his room leaving Naruto and Itachi to clean up.

"So?" Itachi looked at Naruto expectantly. Naruto sighed and looked over at Itachi who is wiping down the dining table.

"I'm an asshole." Naruto paused contemplating on how to phrase the situation in the simplest way. Itachi just waited for Naruto to continue with a silent 'hmm'. Naruto leaned on the kitchen sink and faced Itachi as he continued.

"I told Sasuke that I like him and other deep emotional stuff. But then I panicked because I totally said more than I need to so… I asked him if he likes me too, you know, in a more than friends' kind of way which kind of really got him off guard. It was really bad because he was torn between rejecting me and not hurting me. He told me he likes me too and that I'm his best friend which is… meeh. I totally did not want to hear him say the best friend speech to me so I told him it was just some sort of a prank…"

"…so there… you can kill me now…" Naruto breathed deeply, eyes cast downward.

He was ashamed that he's telling this to Itachi but he owes the man an explanation, he is Sasuke's brother and for the longest time, he considers him as his older brother too. There's nothing you can hide from Itachi, it's like the guy is an out of this world alien who knows everything, especially when it comes to Sasuke so there's no need to hide anything from the guy. Naruto suspects that Itachi knows how he feels for his younger brother already, it's an open secret for the both of them.

Itachi looked at him funny. Like he's amused of a little caterpillar wriggling and struggling while it tries to coat himself with silk thread. Naruto feels like an insect under inspection.

"No need for drastic measures, I kind of like you"

"Yeah, I know, I'm charming"

Itachi glared at him hard at the blond's attempt at humor and Naruto almost shivered at the change in room temperature. Yup, Naruto forgot how scary Itachi is compared to Sasuke.

"Or not. I'm an idiot"

Itachi laughed and leaned on the space beside Naruto. Itachi's fondness of Naruto started when the blond saved his brother from a group of bullies during their fourth grade. There's just something genuine about the blond and the way he acts. He's far from faultless but it was never malicious, he is honest to a fault and he deeply cares for Sasuke.

"So you're not mad? You're not gonna threaten me with slow death and torture?"

The older man looked at him softly, a silent reassurance for Naruto that no matter what, he's not the enemy, never the enemy… well unless he deliberately tries to harm Sasuke in any way. But a little misunderstanding and a moment of weakness is acceptable, we rise from our missteps all the same.

"You'll figure it out… eventually"

"Stop giving me false hopes, Itachi"

"I'm not, I've known both of you all my life, just trust me"

"If you say so… Thanks Tachi"

Itachi poked his forehead and went out of the kitchen with a smile leaving Naruto alone. Naruto closed his eyes thinking about how to fix the situation. No matter what happens, he'll take what he can get, Sasuke's friendship ranks above any other feelings he might have towards his best friend.

He's about to leave the kitchen when he accidentally nudged a spoon and it fell with a clatter on the floor. Naruto sighed dejectedly at the pile of dirty plates waiting to be cleaned.

"Damn it"


	3. Escape, Divert

Chapter 3: Escape, Divert

* * *

Everything is back to normal, at least for the untrained eyes of Naruto and Sasuke's friends. The two unconventional friends are back to being their usual pain in the ass selves. God knows they missed Naruto's happy streak and although they didn't actually missed Sasuke, his presence is a big influence on Naruto's everyday mood. They knew Sasuke and Naruto's three-week long fight is over when Sasuke started joining them to lunch and Naruto annoys Sasuke with useless comments while Sasuke shots him down. They bicker, they tease each other and they hang out more often than any other people in the group – just like how it was.

Everything is back to normal which is nice since their little group of friends, including Shikamaru who is the most chill person among them, is in constant tension for the past few weeks due to Naruto's brooding and constant bad mood at Sasuke's icy demeanor towards the blond. Although Sasuke doesn't usually hang out with them, his absence is a gaping hole that disrupts the balance of the group. Some might disagree, but not Naruto.

Falling into a false sense of comfort, Naruto and Sasuke's friends are at ease that they've settled whatever disagreements they had. Only, they've forgotten about how good those two are with putting up a front. Nobody knows that Naruto is doubling his efforts ignoring the fact that he just confessed his long standing desire for Sasuke. Sasuke on the other hand is trying to ignore the constant memory of Naruto's 'prank' confession, which makes him think of the blond more, making him easy to aggravate than usual.

Sasuke's finds himself gravitating physically towards the blond. An inch closer, shoulders constantly brushing, arms accidentally grazing, lingering touches. It flusters Sasuke to have this compulsion to touch since it's a very Naruto trait. What further bothers Sasuke is that Naruto seems to be doing exactly the opposite. Naruto is trying to avoid touching Sasuke – no more arms draped around his shoulders or comforting hand squeezes. Those were replaced by pats on the shoulders and quick backhand on his arm.

It frustrates Sasuke but refuses to acknowledge it.

Naruto is not much better.

Being a sunshine and roses kind of guy, Naruto made it his personal mission to be spreading the happy despite his internal struggles. What makes it harder is that it has to be around Sasuke who makes it a point to be cynic as possible.

In a span of a few days their short lived stalemate slowly evolved to low blows and sarcasm of a new level. The only consolation for Naruto was that, Sasuke doesn't seem to want to push Naruto away, if the constant shoulder brush is an indication of some sort of act of camaraderie. Naruto could even swear that Sasuke is initiating friendly touches which he subtly ignores and avoids for fear that it'll look like he's taking advantage.

The only thing that's clear is that they both are going through a daily dose of mental acrobatics and confusing emotions.

It proves to be a too much for Sasuke when he finds himself dreading to see the blond for lunch but feels relieved when Naruto notices his presence and waves for him to join their table. Nevertheless, as they day passed by, Sasuke feels the need to get way, to distance himself before he's consumed with too many conflicting feelings that he doesn't know how to handle – much more to think about. So the first thing he did after he saw the university's out of town internship program was to apply for it.

Naruto's attempt to divert his attention from Sasuke becomes difficult when he feels like Sasuke is being left behind to fend for himself like a lonely kid at the corner of the room. And every day he sees Sasuke slowly creeping back to his shell of indifference, he feels anxious that he'll lose him in any way. So imagine the panic and anger he felt when he saw Sasuke's name listed as one of the interns who'll be assigned to Otto.

Naruto trudged the school grounds looking for Sasuke, a feeling of betrayal coursing in him with every step. He found Sasuke in a kiosk beside the library, hell Naruto looks at him and some of his anger melts, so he shoved the thought of forgiving Sasuke away as he marched towards the kiosk refusing to think of anything else but letting the feeling of hurt engulf him.

A piece of paper was hastily shoved in front of Sasuke's face making him a bit disoriented and dreadful at the same time. He's been hoping that this confrontation won't happen even though the chances are slim, and now it's time.

"What's this?"

Naruto's firm voice says he's far from being happy to see him. The blond sat on the empty space beside Sasuke and faced him. The blond held his right shoulder forcing Sasuke to face him.

"It's just for a month, dobe"

"And when do you plan on telling me about this?"

"As soon as I knew about the results… look, I was going to tell you, you just found out sooner"

"Bullshit, this was posted last week." Naruto waved the said paper in his face with the date in it. Sasuke almost winced. He knew of the results the moment it went out but didn't have the guts to tell Naruto about it.

"Think what you want"

The lie is bleeding through Sasuke's clenched teeth. He rarely needs to lie, especially to Naruto who can easily see through him even before he opens his mouth – it's crazy.

"Yeah, good for me too since you'll be leaving when? Oh yeah, at the end of the week, and today is Thursday"

"Urgh, I told you, I didn't expect they'd process it ASAP… I just – look, I don't need to explain"

Sasuke hastily placed his notebooks and pen inside his messenger bag and turned to leave.

"Hey, bastard! Don't you dare -"

Naruto grabbed his arms and punched him in the face.

Although the punch stung his cheeks and he stumbled to the ground, to Sasuke, it was the most alive he felt for the past month. There's something cathartic with engaging in a fight with Naruto, more than words can ever do. Sasuke glared at Naruto and kicked Naruto's gut as hard as he can when the blond came to him to deliver another punch to him while he's still down. Naruto fell backwards, Sasuke crawled up to him delivering punches while Naruto tried to block the oncoming punches.

At this point, both boys forgot the reason why they're actually punching each other.

A sharp whistle and a set of footsteps are nearing. They've gathered a crowd of spectators but no one dared to stop the two of them. They slowly both got up from the ground and got their things. Sasuke was the first one to go, the crowd parting to let him pass. Naruto was left with explaining the situation to the school authorities.

Not a moment later, Sasuke heard Naruto running up to him. They walked silently towards Sasuke's neighborhood with a few shoves from Naruto which Sasuke returned. Both of them feeling at peace with just walking silently even though their whole bodies are aching.

Knocking on the door of Sasuke and Itachi's house with bruised faces and bloody fists brings back memories from their younger days when they both are still angry and sullen teenagers who didn't know the difference between "talking" from "punching".

Itachi's bitch face completed the memory.

"Do I even want to know?"

The older Uchiha opened the door wider to let them both in. Noting the fact that despite his bruised face, Sasuke seems to be relaxed. Naruto on the other hand, is bright as ever.

"I totally kicked his ass"

Itachi silently observed the scene unfolding in front of him – Sasuke with his head down silently limping upstairs with lips pressed together, brows furrowed as if in pain, while Naruto stared after his best friend with a sad smile.

Itachi sighed.

Ever since they were teenagers, they were already fighting like this. He's used to seeing them on the front door bloody and bruised, sometimes with broken bones but as the years pass by, Itachi feels a twinge of melancholy in his heart that this two pain in the ass idiots hurting each other with their fists, hurts less than the words that leaves their lips.

Later that night while Sasuke is packing some of his clothes into his suitcase, Naruto is sprawled over the bed eyes looking at the ceiling, quietly tracing the moving shadow of Sasuke's form. He feels… tired. Just tired, like he was wringed dry.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit irrational"

The blond started, there's no need to part ways without settling their issues together. It's counterproductive to worry about loose ends when you can tie them up if given a chance.

"Yeah… Honestly? I didn't know how to tell you"

"Look at you, admitting your humanly flaws" Naruto rolled to his side, propping his head in left hand to watch Sasuke stride back and forth between his dresser and bed where his bags are open, ready to be filled.

"Besides you were busy flirting with Hyuuga"

If only words were poisonous, the Hyuuga clan must have been foaming in the mouth with the amount of vile Sasuke placed into the name. Naruto's brows shot up at the uncalled for comment, maybe Itachi was right, they're not so hopeless after all.

"Hinata? So you got insecure? Is that it?"

A hint of amusement laced Naruto's words; it feels good to tease Sasuke whenever he got the chance.

"Fuck you, Naruto"

"Don't worry we're just friends. Besides, she stutters… shifty eyes"

"Right, you can't trust any of those… might be blond loser serial killer"

Naruto chortled, his a mixture feelings he can't express. Gazing over Sasuke busily arranging his things onto his bag, Naruto felt a heavy weight in his gut so familiar since the day he realized that Sasuke was more than a lonely boy in a pretty face looking for acknowledgement. He gladly relished the feeling and closed his eyes.

"You're such a bastard" The blond murmured cursing his emotionally retarded best friend.

"Hmm… heard you the first thousand times"

Silence filled the room only the grating sound of the bag's zipper closing can be heard.

Naruto knows the reason why Sasuke didn't tell him, he understands him, somehow. He knows why Sasuke wanted to get away from him, even for just a time. There's no malice behind it, just something that he needs to do, sort his shit out. Heck, Naruto needs time too… And Sasuke's decision is an easy way out and Naruto takes it. He makes peace with it because whatever Sasuke will give him, he will take.

"Sasuke, you'll do great"

Sasuke peered at Naruto, his eyes are closed, his face, peaceful. His heart is pounding inside his chest, hands slowly drifting to brush the stray hair from Naruto's forehead he paused halfway and released a breath. His hands withdrew from the almost touch.

"I know"

Turns out, one month isn't that life changing for Naruto. A few messages and phone calls exchanged with Sasuke gets him through some of the hard days and makes him cheerful during normal days.

"What in the world is taking him so long?"

"Chill man, Naruto, the bus just arrived" Kiba looked at Naruto with a scowl. The blond just can't stop talking about Sasuke and it's starting to grate on his nerves. "I swear, I can't understand your Uchiha obsession" Kiba whispered under his breath.

"Hey, I heard that!"

Sasuke emerged from the bus, a backpack and suitcase in tow. He looks good, relaxed, the polo shirt he's wearing helps too, and he looks unfairly handsome. He was about to run towards Sasuke when he noticed a red haired girl coming down from the bus after Sasuke. She immediately attached herself to his arms. She's wearing a shirt topped with a long cardigan, shorts with high boots highlighting her long legs, her red hair can rival that of Kushina's.

Naruto's face fell and his steps faltered. When Sasuke noticed him, he smiled his own small smile and Naruto can't help but wave his hands with a wide grin. A sense of relief washed over him. Naruto hugged Sasuke ignoring the girl for the time being. He can have a moment of selfishness before caring about the world and the people in it.

"Teme, look at you all formal and shit" Naruto tugged on Sasuke's collar this earned him a slap on Naruto's offending hand.

"Usuratonkachi"

A very feminine and was shoved in front of Naruto, begging for a shake. Naruto looked at Karin and somehow there's something familiar with her. He took her hand and shook it.

"You must be Narutp! I'm Karin, Sasuke's – "

"Let's go" Sasuke cut her off and started walking towards the exit. Karin and Naruto shared a puzzled look before following Sasuke towards the parking lot where Naruto is parked. Kiba punched Naruto's shoulders asking the blond to introduce him to their new lady friend.

Meanwhile, Sasuke is walking a bit faster than the trio, feeling a headache coming from the impending days to come.

It turned out, Karin is Sasuke's girlfriend and Naruto's distant cousin – what a fucking coincidence. Naruto wanted to cry after laughing his ass off. Too much for feeling relieved and happy upon seeing Sasuke for the first time in a month. The blond felt cheated.

"How come you didn't mention this?"

They were in Naruto's car, parked in front of a 24/7 convenient store near Sasuke's house. They just dropped Karin off in her friend's house where she'll be staying for the mean time while in Konoha. Kiba left them in favor of attending a party at Ino's.

"It's irrelevant, I never courted her… It just happened"

"Yeah, obviously something happened"

"Naruto, don't be like -"

"Don't be what Sasuke? Irrational?" Naruto's hands are clenched tightly on the steering wheel, his face is dangerously blank but Sasuke can see his jaws trembling, something that he's not used to seeing from Naruto. The blond is vocal and obnoxious who can't keep his mouth shut and this one in front of him is far from it.

Sasuke hesitantly placed his hands over Naruto's hands trying to reach out to Naruto. Guilt was starting to get to him – guilt of what, he can't seem to put a finger on. He can't even remember the reason why he agreed to be with Karin in the first place – maybe it was because her last name was the same as Naruto's. Why he hid the relationship, however insignificant it may be for Sasuke, he doesn't know why. He just felt the need to hide it.

"Naruto"

Naruto shrugged his hands off Sasuke's and started the car. The silence is deafening but both of them didn't notice it over the persistent noises from their head.

Itachi opened the door to see Sasuke's crestfallen face. He was reminded of a five year old Sasuke who dropped his ice cream on the side walk after begging Itachi to buy him one. It was adorable as it was heart crushing. This older version of Sasuke who is standing at the doorway is far from cute but still, Itachi can feel his heart ache for his brother.

"So… Karin, huh?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke silently removed his shoes and padded towards the stairs. Only stopping when he felt Itachi move beside him, peering at his face.

"Does Naruto know?"

Time stopped as Itachi waited for Sasuke's answer. A beat and a half after, Sasuke finally breathed with an answer.

"He does now…"

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't"

Itachi stared as his younger brother slowly climb to his room.

Inside his room, Sasuke felt his phone vibrate, he was wishing it was Naruto… And it is. But he never gets the satisfaction he always feels whenever he receives a message from the blond.

 _I'm sorry… If she really makes you happy, I'm with you_

Sasuke never had the heart to reply because deep inside he just feels empty.

Naruto threw his phone on the couch before heading towards his bedroom not bothering to wait for any reply from Sasuke. He was thinking about what Neji said days after Sasuke left, and maybe Neji was right – that he needs to get a life without thinking about what Sasuke would think, that maybe he needs to focus less on the Uchiha to see that there are others who are vying for Naruto's attention too.

The meaning and intention behind Neji's words were clear since it was interestingly so whispered in his ears in a very rough voice. Naruto was shocked at first but then, he can't deny the pleasure he felt of being wanted. Maybe he could try.

The long distance relationship gave Sasuke the freedom of being alone without feeling the void of being lonely. Somehow Sasuke and Karin are making it work, the occasional out of the town visits and half way through the country meetups is a bearable price to pay for being with someone you enjoy spending your time with. Especially when Naruto told Sasuke that he'll give dating a go, and who is Sasuke to stop his best friend from finding comfort from other people if he himself went and got himself a girlfriend.

The novelty of being in a relationship started to fade in the three month mark when Karin started demanding for more time with Sasuke, and Sasuke winced at the idea of more. The drive to continue the affair dwindled as it became more complicated than Sasuke expected. And while Sasuke is busy with pleasing (and terribly failing) at making his relationship with Karin work, Naruto and Neji are spending their time scouring every empty classrooms that they can find to have sex. They're not really subtle with it - Sasuke is not impressed.

Sasuke found himself often looking for Naruto's attention, picking up fights just like they used to but with Neji beside Naruto easing the tension between them, Sasuke's effort is futile. The thing is, as much as he wanted to find fault with the long haired freak who is Hinata's cousin, he can't. Because while he can insult Hinata for her weaknesses, it's different with Neji. He knows that Neji is smart, he's got good looks, definitely articulate and his eyes are sharp. He's confident and Sasuke hates it. He hates him even more because he can make Naruto laugh like how Sasuke would make the blond laugh and more.

Whenever he sees Naruto and Neji coming out of empty classrooms and bathroom stalls looking disheveled, Neji will look at him, a knowing look in his pale eyes, a smirk on his lips as they passes by him in the hallways after witnessing the harried escape. Naruto just smiles guiltily at him and scratches the back of his head.

Fourth month into Sasuke and Karin's relationship, they broke up. Naruto was with him the night of the breakup to keep Sasuke's broken heart company, but really he wasn't at all that devastated. He was just glad that he'll have less things to think about now and focus on the things that matters like their coming graduation and job applications. That night, Naruto told him all about what happened to him in their one month time apart and his future plans, neither talked about Karin nor Neji. It was all them, just like how they always were.

Naruto slept at Sasuke's bed sprawled out like an eagle with its wings spread out. With much kicking and shoving, Naruto for the love of all holy cannot be moved or contorted into a more accommodating position. With one last kick at Naruto's legs, Sasuke climbed up his bed and slept between the space under Naruto's spread arms and cold wall.

To say everything became better after Sasuke's breakup is an understatement. Sasuke is just glad that the charged tension between him and Naruto is gone (almost). Both came back to their usual habit of hanging around each other's home whenever they're available. Also, Naruto seem to have reduced spending time with Neji. Sasuke may not admit it out loud, but he feels a sense of pride that at the end of the day Naruto still comes back to him, even without anything sexual happening between them – not that Sasuke thought about it, ever. Okay, so maybe sometimes. Damn it.

There's a lull in between their scheduled classes and Naruto found Sasuke in his favorite spot in the library which is in the farthest corner of the Humanities section, near the window away from people. Sasuke doesn't hate people, he just wants his alone time… alone. Naruto understands this but he also knows that Sasuke is comfortable with Naruto invading his Zen moments. The least Naruto can do is to gently sit down beside Sasuke and read silently.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto's reading form and traced Naruto's profile from the stray bangs in his forehead to the movement of his cerulean eyes and the peaks of his nose, the pink hue of his lips, the fine hair on his chin. His face is clean, he'd seen Naruto's face countless of times but this is the first time he managed to really look at him.

"Something on my face Sasuke?"

Naruto asked without looking away from his reading material. Sasuke tried to stop looking at Naruto but his eyes, his traitorous eyes, seem to draw them back to Naruto's eyes. It looks good, the way the light hits his face.

"Your face is lame"

"Your face is lamer"

Then, it suddenly occurred to Sasuke that Naruto has been spending more of his class breaks with him instead of Neji.

"Where's Neji?"

Naruto finally looked at him, puzzled, a small frown on his face. Sasuke squinted noticing the slight chapping on Naruto's lips. If Neji and Naruto recently kissed each other, his lips must not look so dry and… not swollen.

"I don't know…"

Finally looking at his open notebook, Sasuke continued taking notes from before Naruto's lame face appeared beside him. Not that he's complaining, as a matter of fact, he feels like smiling today, it's weird.

"Isn't he your boyfriend or something?"

Sasuke felt Naruto's frown deepened. The blond is so expressive that he can feel every feeling and expressions radiate from him.

"I told you before, we're just fooling around, nothing serious… Besides, we haven't seen each other for weeks…"

"Oh…"

There's a fluttering feeling blossoming from Sasuke's heart and he can't help but smile. Turning his face towards the window to hide his face, he felt his smile broaden.

Naruto looked at Sasuke to ask him why he asked when he noticed Sasuke's smiling face reflected on the glass window, his eyes softened. Naruto never grinned so hard in his life.

* * *

Note:

I missed my self-imposed two week deadline but hey! I'm just happy I was able to post this one in a month :) Hope you enjoy!


	4. Hipocrisy

Chapter 4: Hipocrisy

Itachi found himself being dragged in a dark corner of his house. Naruto, a giddy silhouette in the dark, with a finger on his mouth attempting to _shhhh_ him into silence… which is really unnecessary since Itachi is far from the screaming type. Maybe it's Naruto who needs to be tied up in a chair with a gag.

Then, he thought about whether Sasuke would maybe like that as a graduation gift.

The official last day of school closed with a graduation ceremony for the graduating students of Konoha University. As expected, Sasuke graduated with a degree in Business Management as the overall batch valedictorian. Naruto on the other hand was pretty proud of himself for completing his Political Science degree as a cum laude (with Sasuke's help and influence, mind you) and a medal of excellence in leadership (well that, that was all him through and through).

In Naruto's book, the idea of graduating is reason enough to throw a party and have a week-long celebration. As opposed to Sasuke who just wanted to lay down on his bed, maybe have a drink or two with Itachi or Naruto, and sleep the weekend away. Which is why Naruto decided to invite all of their family and friends for a surprise party.

It's not so much a surprise party for Sasuke, it's more like a party that will surprise Sasuke since it's going to be held at Itachi and Sasuke's house. Well, not to mention the plan to actually surprise Sasuke as he comes back from a _possibly_ really awkward late lunch with his father.

 _Naruto approached Sasuke after the ceremony squeezing the life out of him and dragging him towards the exit amidst all the students and friends greeting each other happy graduation. Naruto waved and, slapped and, cheered everyone he meets on their way out, at the same time keeping his arms locked on Sasuke's shoulders._

 _All the greeting, and waving, and slapping is making Sasuke ruffled but can't find the energy to get annoyed with the whole situation, much less the way how the blond dragged him all around. Sasuke even felt his cheeks ache from all the smirking (smiling) he's done._

 _They made it outside to their families in one sweaty but happy piece._

 _Kushina smothered them with kisses, while Mikoto placed one lingering kiss on each of the boy's cheeks, which made Naruto stare at Mikoto with an angry blush, and apparently, mute. If Sasuke have some weird thing going on for his father, Naruto definitely have some huge (justified) crush for Sasuke's mother. Naruto lamely blocked Kushina's punches on his head while he earned a triple glare from Sasuke, Itachi and Fugaku. Minato tried to calm everyone._

 _Each families parted ways to celebrate each of their boy's achievements. Only, it was really just a ploy to distract Sasuke from knowing what was in store for him later that day. After Minato, Naruto and Kushina ate lunch, they directly went to the Uchiha residence where Itachi and Sasuke lives. The family started cooking and decorating the living room._

 _They were shortly joined by Itachi and Mikoto in the pretense that Itachi got an emergency call at work and Mikoto wanted to go shopping. That leaves Sasuke and Fugaku alone to bond in a Japanese restaurant near the University._

 _One by one, Sasuke and Naruto's friends started coming. Music can be heard coming from the house, and Naruto is having the time of his life taping banners, blowing balloons and food tasting. Surely, life couldn't get any better than this._

 _Meanwhile, Sasuke was seated in front of his father. At their table is an overabundance of food that neither can finish in a lifetime. Fugaku sipped some iced tea from his glass, silently cursing his wife and Itachi for leaving him alone to 'distract' Sasuke._

 _If there's one thing Fugaku can't for the life of him do, it's to casually talk with either of his sons. Itachi is bearable. At least his older son has the initiative to start conversations that actually interests him. Now Sasuke… Sasuke is a bit more complicated, he's more inclined to talk about feelings, like his mother. He tends to ask questions like "how are you and mother, really?" instead of asking about the stock market. He must know that those questions are reserved to be asked for Mikoto._

 _Fugaku sighed and glanced at his watch. 3:15 PM, 2 hours and 45 minutes to go._ Might as well talk to Sasuke before the iced tea runs out.

 _"So, Sasuke, congratulations." Fugaku started as he looked at his son's fidgeting figure in front of him._

 _"Thanks, Dad..." Sasuke poked some rice in his plate with chopsticks. Thinking that if there's a perfect time to tell his dad that he got accepted as a Junior Apprentice at one of the biggest companies in Konoha, it's right now._

 _Sasuke steeled himself._

 _"I got accepted at WC, Inc. as a Junior Apprentice"_

 _"When do you plan on joining our company?"_

 _Both Uchihas froze as they both finished their sentences and realized that they were about to tread on really dangerous waters here. Surely, both of them don't want to have a screaming match at a restaurant full of people after Sasuke's graduation, right?_

 _Sasuke unconsciously gripped his chopsticks tight, his hands are shaking. Fugaku sighed and took another sip from his glass. Sensing that his father stopped talking instead of asking him further questions, Sasuke looked at him and relaxed his shoulders._

 _The younger of the two took in the appearance of his father. There are evident lines around his eyes and a serious expression on his face like it was etched in stone. His perfect posture and the slight frown on his face reflects years of responsibilities and achievements made from talent and hard work. His hands are holding a glass by his lips to drink a very sweetly flavored iced tea. And his father hated sweets._

 _He sighed and flagged the waiter. If his father chose to stand down and respect Sasuke today, he'll return the favor. Uchihas acknowledge kindness when it's given._

 _Fugaku's eyebrows raised when Sasuke ordered a bottle of Fugaku's favorite brand of wine. The older man smiled to himself. Secretly, even without words, he knew that Sasuke cares. Even though he cannot express himself as articulately as Mikoto does, deep inside, he loves his sons very much._

The sound of the door knob being opened made everyone in the room stand still. Lights are out and no one is breathing, except for Naruto who is busily looking for a place to hide himself. Fugaku texted Mikoto that they were 10 minutes away from the house. During that point everything was all set. There are at least 15 people in the house, plus Karin and some of her friends if they decided to come. Naruto had some second thoughts inviting Karin because while she's his cousin, she is also Sasuke's ex which spells discomfort at any level but Karin already answered the phone call even before Naruto could hang up.

Naruto prefers her not to show up.

Sasuke opened the door and a citrusy smell wafted over him. As he opened the lights, a chorus of "SURPRISE!" greeted him. A couple of confetti was thrown in his direction and Naruto is blowing a tiny hat trumpet on his ear. Lastly, a flash of white temporarily blinded him.

"The fuck?" Sasuke muttered before he saw Itachi smirking at him, handing Naruto a Polaroid shot, probably of him where he's standing by the door, looking shocked as hell out of his mind.

He took in his surroundings - there's a banner with congratulations at the middle of the room, Kushina and Mikoto are giggling at a corner, while Minato is by Kushina's side smiling. His father who is behind him is already by his wife's side shaking his head in amusement.

So this party is the reason why he spent four hours of his life being awkward with his father. For Itachi to take a shocked picture of him, for Naruto to render him deaf with toy trumpets, and for his parents to watch him with amusement as he gets laughed at by his friends.

"Stop swearing like a sailor ungrateful bastard, our parents are here!" Naruto laughed as he pushed Sasuke inside the room and gave him a shot glass. Now, Sasuke's got some buzz going on from drinking with his father in the restaurant. Cringing at the memory, the shot in his hand felt like a merited prize. After all the torture he's been through, it's only fitting to drink to his heart's content - It's their graduation anyway.

Sasuke innocently looked at the shot in his hand and looked around, noticing that each has their own respective glasses ready to be knocked back. Raising his glass for a salute, he drank the shot letting the burn of the alcohol as it lines his throat. Everyone cheered and drank their shots. Music blasted from the speakers, food are all over the place, and Naruto's hand is warm against his nape.

Today is good day, weird but good.

"Congratulations, Naruto"

A familiar voice greeted him and he whipped around to see Neji smiling at him with open arms. Naruto hugged Neji and patted his back before letting him go, but keeping him within arm's length. Neji is older but will have to graduate next year because he changed program from Business to Legal Management, though he spent some of his minor courses with and Sasuke and a few major courses with Naruto.

"No thanks to you" Naruto laughed and poured him a shot. They clinked their glasses together and drank their shots, bottoms up.

Naruto saw Neji cringe as he swallowed. Naruto snickered as he is already immune to the burn, doing a couple of shots through the night.

"I knew you could do it, really"

If given a chance, Neji would like to spend more time with Naruto. Wanted to get closer to him like Sasuke does, but everybody knows that their history goes a long way back. No one can compete with that.

The time Naruto spent with Neji in their short friends with benefits thing was great. Yet, Neji is in for his heart to be broken if he decided to continue with their arrangement. It's hard not to get attached with the blond especially if he constantly makes you laugh, and make you breakfast and have deep philosophical arguments and shit. His passion is attractive, and so is his body. Not to mention the fact that he'll always be devoted to the Uchiha.

"What, graduating with honors or having an excellence award?" Naruto grinned at Neji's pinched face.

"You've gotten cocky" Neji can't help but smile back at Naruto.

"Oh, I always am"

Naruto offered another shot at Neji but the other man slightly shook his head and placed his empty glass down the nearest coffee table. "Now, as much as I want to stay and get you drunk… I'm here to pick-up my cousin"

Hinata was talking with Sakura and Ino on the couch. When she noticed Neji's presence, the girl waved at him before drinking back her beer and bid the girls goodbye with a hug. Neji saw his cousin look at Naruto with longing, but the blond can only see the small smile on her lips and not the ache in her eyes. Neji can only feel bad for her for not being bold enough.

Once Hinata bid her goodbyes, she went towards them where Naruto gave her a hug.

Neji met Sasuke's glare at the corner of the room. The Uchiha is playing chess with Shikamaru, and he's a little red in the face. He must have drunk a lot already. Neji decided to tease the man a little. If he can't have Naruto for himself, he might as well get some kind of entertainment from the man who possibly will.

Without breaking eye contact with Sasuke, he leaned his head towards Naruto's ear and whispered.

"If ever it doesn't work out with him… I'm always glad to be of service"

Naruto laughed at him with a blush on his cheeks not noticing Sasuke watching them. And just because he can, Neji kissed Naruto's cheeks.

"Shame on you and your wicked ways Hyuuga"

Shikamaru looked over to where the Uchiha was throwing beams with his laser eyes. It was Neji, whispering something at Naruto while the said blond giggled like a fan girl. How troublesome. Shikamaru looked at the board to make a move only to realize that it's actually Sasuke's turn already. If Sasuke gets the move right, he can actually win this game set.

The Uchiha downed another shot before looking at the chessboard and knocked down Shikamaru's king piece with unnecessary force.

"Another game?" Shikamaru asked while eyeing the place. Neji and Hinata already left and Naruto is seated with Kiba by the play station.

"Hn."

Another game it is.

Sasuke is drunk.

Naruto can count on one hand the number of times he saw Sasuke this drunk and every single time, it's still hilarious and disturbing at the same time. Naruto himself is tipsy bordering on drunk, but at least he's still in his proper mind to act like himself. Unlike Sasuke who's got a sly look on his face while holding a bottle of tequila, pouring everyone a drink, and forcing them to drink it in an overly polite manner.

Naruto walked towards Sasuke and gently pried the liquor bottle out of his hands. He was faced with innocent black eyes, a bit watery from the effects of alcohol, fatigue, and sleepiness. Naruto felt a rush of need to hug his best friend in the whole wide world. Instead, he held Sasuke's wrist and gently guided him in a slightly covered area near the stairs to convince him to just sleep it off.

"Where's my gift, dobe?" Sasuke smiled and draped an arm around Naruto's waist.

Naruto stood very still at the sudden display of affection. He should have expected this because Sasuke is always a touchy drunk… more than touchy, really. And he can't have Sasuke being all over him now because… just because.

Naruto slightly looked down at Sasuke's half lidded eyes. It's perfect. He's perfect.

"Sorry? I arranged a surprise party and you still want more?" Naruto tried to throw in a joke but even that feels forced. Sasuke tilted his head with a squint.

"How about a kiss?"

Naruto smiled, because he can do this. Naruto can be friendly with a drunk squinty eyed Sasuke without taking advantage of him. Naruto kissed Sasuke's cheeks.

"Hmph. That's it?"

Naruto was about to say something about being drunk and need to sleep but Sasuke leaned forward to kiss him. Damp lips touched his own in a forceful press and Naruto felt drunker with it than all the alcohol he's consumed the whole night.

Sasuke leaned back and looked proud as fuck, and so adorable, and Naruto doesn't know what to do.

The blond closed his eyes and breathed. One. Two. Three. He brushed some hair off Sasuke's face and caressed the arms still encircled around his waist. He slowly removed them.

"Sas, no more drinking… do you even know what you're doing?"

"Of course! I'm not an idiot, idiot, I'm very smart"

"I know…" Naruto's smile is reflected in his eyes, because he can't seem to make his lips stop tingling. "I'm so proud of you"

Getting a necklace out the pockets of his jacket, Naruto wore it around Sasuke's neck and hugged him. Sasuke immediately hugged back his lips slightly brushing Naruto's neck, mouthing a slow thank you.

Naruto shivered. Half of his mind is continuously cursing him for being such a hypocrite in front of a drunk Sasuke, while the other half of his mind is pleading him to _please just pin that hot ass on the wall_. He did neither of those, though.

It took all of Naruto's soberness to lead Sasuke to his room to sleep. Their pace is painstakingly slow since Sasuke is constantly tripping on nothing while Naruto is having a hard time keeping balance. Once Sasuke got to his room, Naruto said a quick good night and hastily closed the door.

The blond banged his head outside Sasuke's room. He let out three deep breaths before coming back down. And if Naruto looked spooked and out of his mind, they all blamed it on the alcohol.


	5. The Running Man

**Chapter 5: The Running Man**

* * *

Notes:

\- Hi Guys! This is a belated Merry Christmas/advance Happy New Year post for everyone! Hope you like it, now, go read! :))  
\- Unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine, except for the characters, of course we both know who it belongs to', no?

* * *

Sasuke woke up like he was run over by a bulldozer in the head.

The curtains are drawn back making his room awfully bright. He tried to reach for the curtains in an attempt to close it but something is choking him in the neck. Pale hands tried to pry it out only to realize that the offending piece of shit is actually linked around his neck. Sasuke fingered the chain until he felt the clasp and unhooked it. He raised it to his eyes and was shocked to see a very familiar pendant hanging from the chain.

Naruto's blue crystal necklace sparkles with life from the sunlight.

He hastily sat up and groaned as his head pounded. His room is spinning and he has to lean his head on the headboard and close his eyes to stop everything from moving. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes to look at the time from his phone on the bedside table and saw a glass of water and an ibuprofen beside it.

Sasuke gingerly picked up the meds and gulped half of the glass' contents. That's when he saw the note on the table.

 _Mornin' Princess! – N_

"Shit, fuck."

Unless Itachi suddenly changed his name to Nitachi, he's sure that the cup of water and medicine was from Naruto, also judging from the handwriting that's almost as obnoxious as its owner. Sasuke massaged his temples to ease his headache, and with much effort, to stop himself from banging his head on the wall beside his bed.

Last night was one of the best nights of his life only because he never have to stress about deadlines and pressures of being a student. Although he was kind of moderately drinking at the beginning of the party because – parents, he was very open at taking shots and drinking beer that was continuously offered to him, mostly by Naruto and Kiba, the moment the oldies left the house together for a couple's night out.

Man, he was wasted, and it's freeing and humbling at the same time – especially when you wake up dehydrated as fuck with a killer headache. That, and the fact that he can still feel the press of Naruto's lips and the feel of his lips against the beating pulse on Naruto's neck. He remembered liking it, a lot.

Sasuke absentmindedly bit his lower lip at the memory.

Which he thinks, is totally justified.

Okay. Why not? Neji got away with kissing him on the cheek last night! On top of having sex with his best friend for several months. Sue him for being possessive around his only best friend in the whole wide world.

The weight of the necklace feels heavy in his palms. He slowly slid down from his sitting position to lie on his bed. He covered his eyes with an arm trying to block the light from his eyes.

He can recall the look on Naruto's face, soft eyes… fond smile. He's seen it a dozen times on different occasions. Even when he was pressing his body towards Naruto, there's no hint of judgement… Only understanding. It pisses him off.

Because he wanted something different. For Naruto to push him away or pull him closer. And of course Sasuke was rewarded of an all understanding smile that gives away nothing, not even bothered to kiss back even for a second. Instead, Naruto pushed towards his room and left him alone to sleep, and to think Naruto himself was intoxicated.

Sasuke doesn't think about what all of it means.

* * *

Naruto woke up with the smell of coffee in the air and black eyes looking down at him. He thought that by now, he must be used to Itachi's habit of staring down at people when they sleep. He's seen Itachi do exactly the same thing to Sasuke as well countless times. It's half funny, half creepy.

"Shit, Itachi. Good morning to you too" Naruto slowly sat down and accepted the cup of coffee offered to him by Itachi. He stretched his neck and was surprised that nothing in his body is hurting, not even a hangover. He's always amazed with his body's tolerance for alcohol, it's definitely a blessing.

"I saw what happened" Itachi says after sipping from his own cup of coffee.

Naruto groaned and placed the cup on the table in front of him. Trust Itachi to skip the good morning greeting and jump straight to business only moments after creeping him out. He just woke up!

"How am I not shocked" Naruto said sarcastically.

"I'm more surprised that you didn't just shove him up the wall… who knew you were such a prude?" Itachi sat down on the armchair beside the couch where Naruto slept.

"Huh...I was almost tempted… actually, but… I don't know. The fact that he's drunk didn't occur to you, Itachi?"

"Really now… that's what stopped you"

"YES!"

Itachi stared at him with sharp eyes and Naruto held the gaze, not one to back down or show any uncertainty. After what felt like ages, Itachi handed Naruto a sealed envelope.

Naruto eyed it before tearing the sides and tilted it revealing two identical keys and a small business card. The blond looked at Itachi before reading the card. It's an address… an address of a condo unit in Wind Country, Suna.

The blond is usually good with words but none of it are coming to him at the moment. All he can do is to look at Itachi and the card then back at Itachi.

"Sasuke mentioned about looking for an apartment in Suna. It's not much but I know the owner and -"

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto's eyes are wide like he couldn't believe his eyes.

When Sasuke forwarded his application in Wind Corps, Int., Naruto started looking for a small place for rent near the office since Naruto is 101% sure that Sasuke will get the job, aside from the fact that it's a 5 hour drive from Konoha to Suna.

Suna is a fairly large city like Kohona so, it's going to be easy for Naruto to look for a job there, too. That way, they can skip the unnecessary goodbyes and time apart in favor of working together, build their own futures.

"You don't like it?"

Naruto looked at him incredulously. "You're the best, Itachi!"

"It has two bedrooms."

That seems to make Naruto sputter thinking about the meaning behind Itachi's words.

"Really? That's your way of telling me not to violate your brother? Giving me this key is like… I don't know, handing me your brother's virginity. No offense, I know for a fact that he's not a fuckin' china doll… and not a virgin either" Naruto's word vomit earned him an unamused look from the other man.

"I did not say anything."

"Yeah, right, I can hear you thinking! But really, thank you, we will pay you back, promise!" Naruto says while he stands up, gesturing vaguely, unable to contain his excitement. Itachi took pity on him and just dismissed him with a hand. Naruto grinned at him and hurriedly padded towards Sasuke's room.

Naruto knocked on Sasuke's door twice before barging in. Sasuke is lying face up, looking at the ceiling. Probably with his head still aching.

"Sasuke! Look!" Naruto bounced on Sasuke's bed causing the other to wince. Naruto dangled the keys in front of Sasuke's face and Sasuke has to grab them to stop it from moving.

"What's this?" Sasuke's voice is calm contrary to the turmoil and panic he feels inside. He's pretty sure what these keys are for, because he can remember telling Itachi about their plan to move to Suna after graduation but now, he's not sure if he can handle being with Naruto now or the coming days within close quarters.

"A condo! We talked about his already, right? After graduation, we'll move to Suna start your awesome career and I can go look for NGOs protecting human rights or go save mother earth or something!"

Naruto's excitement wavered as he saw Sasuke's eyes close as if in pain. The fact that Sasuke did not even look at him is enough to worry the blond.

"Did WE talk about it? Or did you talk me into it?" Sasuke said with clenched teeth. Sasuke hates to do this, but he's not ready to deal with any of it now… or ever.

"Sasuke, wha-?"

"I decided to work with father. You can have the unit"

"What?! Sasuke, you know what… you're still out of it, why don't you sleep more and –"

"No. I've already thought about it and –"

"How long have you thought about this? Overnight, while sleeping? Did you dream about it? You're still drunk aren't you? I thought you wanted to create a name for yourself?"

"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have any name other than that"

Naruto is shaking as he crumpled the envelope on his hands and threw it across the wall. The action is immensely unsatisfying. Naruto thought they were through with this… he thought, that with what happened last night, drunk Sasuke, notwithstanding, they can start with something – anything.

Naruto is a very patient man, with Sasuke, immeasurably so. But it's frustrating nevertheless, and it's draining him to the core. Their constant push-pull takes them both nowhere. Maybe this thing he has for Sasuke should remain just that, an attraction not meant to be pursued.

It's a punch in his gut that he just thought about that possibility only now.

With one last kick to Sasuke's bed, Naruto stormed out of the room and straight out of the house. Sasuke heard Naruto's car engine start, the tires screech as they zoom away from the residence.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, he gripped the necklace tight in his hands.

* * *

A week later, Sasuke has yet to hear from Naruto. Sasuke waits.

Two weeks and still, no sign of Naruto. A little more time, he tells himself… Then, the three week marker came and he's starting to feel restless. Usually, Naruto would come knocking on his door, call him or text him at least… not this total silence. But to be fair, he didn't reach out to him too. He's just too used to Naruto doing the reaching out.

In a span of three weeks, he managed to call Wind Corps., Int., decline his position as a Junior Apprentice, submit his resume at the Human Resources of Uchiha Corps., managed to land an initial interview and surprise his father and brother out of their minds at the sudden turn of events.

 _Why didn't you tell me?_ His brother asked. He shrugged his shoulders and gracefully avoided Itachi as much as he could.

 _Why didn't you tell me?_ His father asked. _I don't want it to look like I'm taking a shortcut,_ he said politely.

If there's something he learned from Naruto, it's that nothing worth getting is going to be easy. And _damn that idiot, he still hasn't contacted me yet_ ran through Sasuke's head as he absentmindedly talked to his father on the phone.

His father wanted to ask more about what changed his mind but Sasuke abruptly bid him goodbye and _tell mom to take care too_. Sasuke clutched the phone tight, anguished by the turn of events.

Bitterness is a familiar feeling.

It's a feeling that haunts him every night whenever his father praises Itachi during dinner while discussing Sasuke's accomplishments. Or when as a kid they miss family day in favor of going to work on weekends. And especially when that blond kid and his parents looks so happy and in love all together in front of Sasuke's eyes during grade school.

That blond kid was Naruto and Sasuke is grateful to have him, he's the reason why he's not spiraling down into an abyss of loneliness. He hated him then… But now... he… he's a brother. A best friend.

He feels the familiar sting of bitterness as he declined his position at Wind Corps., Int. but he also knows pride, and pride got the better of him. But now that he's where he never wanted to be in the first place, all because of pride too. But he said what he said, and there's no backing out now. He's going to be miserable about all of these, but he's ready to suffer the consequences with dignity like he always does.

"Sasuke, just one more question"

Sasuke nodded with a small smile at the HR Manager.

"Your father mentioned that you declined the Junior Apprentice position at WCI, in favor of getting a position here at Uchiha Corps, which is quite risky to be honest, since our vacancies are almost filled already. Why come here instead?"

Sasuke flinched despite the fact that he was expecting the question. He rehearsed his answer to this this a thousand times in the mirror before going to the interview.

"Uchiha Corps. is a family business. And I am honored to be a part of something that made my father happy. WCI is a good company, but UC is the best there is."

The interviewer looked at him seemingly satisfied with his answer. Sasuke hoped that at least a bit of sincerity got through it, even though he can only look at himself in the mirror with resentment looking back at him.

* * *

Naruto is staring at the ceiling of his now bare bedroom, waiting for his parents to come pick him up and the last batch of his things from his apartment. His lease is good until the end of the week but he thought, he'll spend time with his parents until he finds a new place and job.

His thoughts keep on going back to that time when Sasuke told him about his dreams of making a name for himself and how getting a job at WC, Int., can give him the proper training and blueprint on how to start his own line of business someday. Working with Uchiha Corps is out of the picture because, not only is it a well-oiled machine by now, but the added pressure from his brother and Father is an unnecessary stress he doesn't want to deal with.

He was fiddling with his phone when it suddenly rang, showing an unknown number.

"Good Morning, Naruto here"

"Good Morning Mr. Uzumaki! This is Rachelle from Wind Corps, Int., we have your application with us and I would like to inform you that you are invited for an interview within the week… what day would you like it to be, are you free tomorrow?"

Naruto was taken aback. He totally forgot that he handed in his resume together with Sasuke's when Sasuke applied for the job. He never expected to get the call when they contacted Sasuke and offered him the position.

"Oh! Okay, tomorrow is fine! But… I would like to ask… this isn't for the Junior Apprentice position, right?"

"That position is currently vacant, but no… This is for the Legal Assistant position. We need someone with a business background for the Junior Apprentice but you're free to apply, but you need to undergo extra screening for that"

Naruto breathed, relieved. He didn't want any more reason for Sasuke to hate him. He resisted the urge to contact Sasuke the morning after the grad party and apologize, he needs to sort his shit out. Since now, he's at a loss on what to do next, his plans got derailed the moment Sasuke said he'll be joining Uchiha Corps., since his plans are carefully anchored with Sasuke. Fuck, he's pathetic.

He needed to talk to Sasuke, ASAP.

* * *

A text message pinged on Sasuke's phone and weeks have passed but he's still on edge waiting for Naruto's message. And he waited for another 30 seconds before getting his phone from the table, an action convincing himself that no, he's not that desperate for Naruto's message, and no, he's not nervous, damn it.

With concealed disappointment, he read the message from HR telling him of his final interview schedule. Sasuke tossed his phone back on the table, his mood worsening by the minute.

He expected to see his dad for the final interview, but was shocked when the man introduced himself as the manager of the general services and housekeeping division.

When HR told him that he was going through the final interview, he assumed that it was with his father, his brother or one of their right hand man. But was shocked when the man introduced himself as the head of the General Services Division.

"Sasuke, are you sure you want to pursue?" The manager looked at him with eager, hopeful eyes.

He was offered a position as a housekeeping office. Now, while he is not quite over qualified, his credentials and family name is more than what the position requires. The sheepish look the manager gave him as he said that he can do better left him a bit indignant yet humbled at the same time. If he's not going to take this position, the job vacancy is a receptionist at the lobby.

A couple of times, his inner self is screaming at him for being so conceited, his life would have been easier when he went through his and Naruto's original plans before graduation. He caught a glimpse of the date on the manager's desk calendar. Today would have been his first day at Wind Corps, Int., no regrets now, it's too late anyway. He used to never make mistakes, at least he thought he didn't.

He clenched his fist and told the manager that yes, he's glad to accept the offer.

As he exited the manager's office, he's landed himself a job at the most prestigious company in the country. But it doesn't feel like a victory.

* * *

The anticipation from getting wind about Naruto reduced the moment he started his work at Uchiha Corps. His fist days at work were laden with hushed whispers about him in comparison with his brother and father. This is why he never wants to get entangled with his father's company, the opportunity to start with a clean slate is tainted by the expectations based on his last name. Fuck his life he'll get through this with his head held high.

The three consecutive beeps from his phone is a welcome distraction from his current work of toilet paper inventory.

 _Are you free? Can we meet?_

He thought about delaying his reply, but there's really no point.

 _Currently working. My off is at 6, UC…_

Sasuke placed his phone inside his drawer and went to work. It's three o'clock… He'll check it again at six.

Sasuke didn't expect the bright blond hair waiting for him at the lobby, sitting in a lounge chair wearing light blue long sleeved polo rolled over his arms, and slacks. He looks good, neat, but the hair gives him a rugged look. It suits him. Sasuke walked towards the blond who automatically stood up as he saw Sasuke approach him.

Naruto hugged him, firmly running a hand at his back once. Sasuke hugged him back. Then the blond let go.

"Why are you wearing that?" Sasuke said as he stood in front of a smiling blond.

Naruto's smile wavered, his eyes shifted nervously, unable to look at Sasuke in the eyes. Sasuke squinted at him. Clearly, he's missing something out.

"What is it? Spit it out" Sasuke's relatively good mood is taking at turn. If not for the sincere look on Naruto's eyes and the fact that he still feels guilty for ditching their after grad plans, he'll start uprooting the plants decorated all over the lobby.

Naruto breathed deeply, "I got accepted at Wind"

Naruto can see the cogs working in Sasuke's head at the revelation. The glare in his eyes and the sneer starting to form in his lips spells like trouble. So he hastily placed two hands in front of him in a placating manner.

"It's not the one you declined. It's in Legal, they called me yesterday for an interview today, and I went this morning. They called to confirm a while ago… I just thought you might want to know…"

Sasuke walked past Naruto without saying a word.

Sasuke willed all thoughts away, trying not to process the new information… the idea that they could have been working together if not for his pigheadedness. The bitter taste of jealousy and regret is starting to bubble in his gut.

Naruto followed him outside, careful not to walk too close to Sasuke. Once they were out of sight of the office building, Sasuke whipped around to face Naruto, his eyes are steel, ready to attack.

"You couldn't wait to get out of my father's office to tell me that? Eager to rub it in my face that I made the wrong decision?"

Naruto's face turned blank. "What are you - ?!" Naruto dragged Sasuke out of the middle of the sidewalk to an alley.

"You trying to get back to me for deciding for myself and not play house in the condo my brother got?" Sasuke mocks Naruto, stepping closer to him trying to back him onto the wall. Naruto pushed Sasuke's shoulders away.

"Shut up, Sasuke and fuck you. I feel bad, shit I felt betrayed. WE planned it, not just me, not just you. WE. And you were fucking excited, don't deny it. I don't know what flipped the switch but hey, I'm trying to give you space because I fucking respect you even though you basically fucked me over." Naruto steadily said his eyes are dark due to the dim lighting from the darkened alley.

Sasuke thought it's kind of scary. Naruto is stalking towards Sasuke forcing the other to step back into the concrete wall. He gulped, his eyes never leaving Naruto's in a challenging glare.

"Is this about that night, when you kissed me? You remember that, no?"

Sasuke's silence is answer enough. Naruto is right, it is about that kiss and everything else that upset his equilibrium. Sasuke never dared to remove his eyes from Naruto's dark blue gaze or he might do something stupid and look at his lips.

Naruto's brows are creased while looking at Sasuke, like he's figuring out what's on Sasuke's mind, how to approach the situation. A look of helplessness flitted over Naruto's face.

"You know what, its nothing. If it bothers you that much, you were drunk and you're comfortable with me. That's it. I don't feel violated at all" The blond stepped back, giving both of them space to breathe.

Sasuke wanted to scream or cry or laugh, he doesn't know anymore. Relief and disappointment is a tricky combination coursing through his body. Naruto brushes it off like it's nothing. And maybe to Naruto it is nothing, just like that night.

Sasuke looked like a spooked cat and Naruto takes pity on him. Naruto takes Sasuke's hand and dragged him to Ichiraku's. They were silent, both lost in their own heads, and that's okay. They exchange glances that neither knows what it means.

Sasuke found himself staring at Naruto's neck without the other noticing, his mind brought him back to the way Naruto's skin feels on his lips. He sputtered, the blond smirked at him. He glared back.

There's no way that Sasuke is thinking about Naruto like that again because they're not that kind of friends. Because he cannot bear to see the look of disappointment in his father's face. Because it's an entirely different thing to disobey his parents than be someone his parents did not raise him to be.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke started to get back to their footing without the constant company of the other.

Naruto started living in Suna, which is closer to his new workplace. He accepted the condo unit Itachi gave them but Naruto insisted on paying for the monthly rent. Itachi told him that there's no need to do that. It ended with an agreement of Naruto paying half of the monthly rent to Itachi. The older Uchiha only agreed to get the payment because he knows how hard headed Naruto can be, and he'll try to sneak into paying him any other way.

Sasuke continued working with Itachi in UC's satellite branch in Konoha. Even though Sasuke feels better now that their past issue is cleared, it doesn't mean that Sasuke's outlook in life became better. In fact, he was feeling bitter every time he does inventory or have to remind the maintenance about cleaning the lobby's carpet for the 100th time.

Itachi checks on him every night asking him if he's okay and he says yes. Over and over again. Itachi tried to be with Sasuke during lunch break or call him whenever he's not swamped with work but that's few and far in between.

Sasuke is performing his best and he does it flawlessly. Four months in and he's got everything down to a science. The department is amazed as well as proud of the new addition in their team except for Sasuke who is yet to find passion in the everyday things he does. He can do better, he tells himself, but cannot find the motivation to move from where he is.

The only consolation he can see is the occasional praise from the business management manager.

It started with friendly hi's in the corridor and hello's in the cafeteria during lunch break. The hello's were followed by invitations for lunch with the business management team, which eventually led to having night outs with a group of officemates - getting drinks and eating out.

Nagato is the current manager of their business development team, barely 25 years old, and already handling his own team of five. Nagato constantly tells him outside of the office that Sasuke's potential is wasted in his job now. Sasuke couldn't agree more but kept the sentiment to himself. Nagato saw the interest in Sasuke's eyes, nevertheless, so he dropped hints of possible transfer and promotion.

Simple officemates became office friends and Sasuke finds himself welcoming the friendship. Sasuke realized that the friendly banter he enjoyed so much with Naruto, he can somehow do with Nagato… and it's a balm that soothes him. It also occurred that he doesn't mind the offhand touches once in a while, a pat on the shoulder, on the arms… The group night outs started to become one on one drinking sessions.

And despite their occasional conversations, never did Sasuke told Naruto any of it.

* * *

Naruto received a message from Itachi that he'll be out of town in time of Sasuke's birthday, so he can't join them for Sasuke's birthday dinner. Naruto made sure to file his half-day leave so he can get to Konoha and pick Sasuke up from the office. They may not be spending much time together due to their work, but hell, he's still Naruto's best friend and he will never leave him alone on his special day feeling unloved.

Unfortunately, the traffic was heavy during Fridays and he was running a bit late. Despite the early morning call to Sasuke, he didn't mention picking him up from the office to surprise him. But now, he needs Sasuke to know so he won't go off somewhere. It was just Naruto's luck that Sasuke's phone seems to be turned off.

The only time Sasuke turns off his phone is when he doesn't want Naruto or Itachi to get hold of him.

With only a prayer, he hoped that he can get to Sasuke on time.

"Good Evening Naruto!" The receptionist, Haku greeted him with a smile. And Naruto could have teased the beautiful creature in front of him if he's not worried sick about Sasuke.

"Is Sasuke still –?"

"I'll check, haven't seen him go out of the entrance though… so maybe he's with Sir Nagato?" Haku looked at him briefly, a slight look of worry in his face.

"Naga… who?" Naruto asked while looking around the lobby, hoping to spot a dark haired fair skinned man lounging around the area.

"One of the managers here… They always go out with some other officemates…"

Naruto felt like he was doused with cold water. Something pulling at his chest, resentment for not spending more time with Sasuke. Jealousy, and wariness as to why Sasuke never mentioned someone named Nagato.

"Oh! Here" Haku positioned the monitor screen in front of Naruto. "He clocked out 30 minutes ago… together with… yup, with Sir Nagato"

"Oh…" Naruto tried his hardest to smile at Haku, but obviously it looked forced due to the concerned look that the other is giving him. He breathed deeply to calm himself down. "Do you happen to know where they, you know hang out… please… It's just… It's Sasuke's birthday and I want to surprise him"

Haku smiled at him, understanding in his eyes, and Naruto can't help but think 'damn, he's abnormally beautiful for a man'.

"They usually go to this bar called Mage Palace… I can't call it shabby because it's high end and all but… well… it feels sketchy at least for me"

Naruto squinted at that but did not comment.

"Thanks a lot, Haku. I owe you big time"

Naruto found Mage Palace 20 minutes from the office and went inside the said bar after a thorough inspection from the bouncers at the entrance.

Now he gets why Haku would describe it as shabby. The place is clean, the staff are accommodating but their patrons leave nothing to be desired. He's been catcalled three times in a span of 5 minutes and his ass have been slapped by people who apparently are rich assholes. To think that you pay a fortune to spend time in this place, might as well go to a hole in the wall bar somewhere.

 _What's Sasuke doing in this kind of place?_

Naruto scoured the place, taking note of dark duck butt hair and pale skin, also, according to Haku, this Nagato guy is tall and has orange hair. After going over the place and dance floor for three times, he's almost sure that Sasuke is not in there.

He's relieved and worried at the other possibilities that are now presented for him.

As he was on his way to the exit, he saw orange. Orange hair to be exact, and a slightly shorter man with dark hair. Given the profile of the man with the dark hair, he's positive that it's not Sasuke but followed the pair anyway. They went inside a curtained entrance and there, Naruto was presented with a roomful of lounge chairs, and a couple of doors by the circular wall which Naruto guesses are private rooms.

What made Naruto scrunch his nose are the bodies publicly making out. And while some of them are focused on kissing or sucking their partners, a few are openly ogling him like meat.

Naruto swallowed his disgust and gave the room a once over and there at the far corner of the lounge is Sasuke.

Naruto almost had a heart attack at the scene in front of him.

Sasuke is slouched at one of the plush chairs, an orange haired guy, with his arms draped around Sasuke's shoulders and body angled towards his best friend is too close for comfort. The man's eyes are predatory.

And while Sasuke is putting up this calm bitch face, he's far from being happy about the situation due to the slight frown marring his face and the look of apprehension from his eyes. Though there's no resistance from him, like he's thrown all care to the world out of the window.

When this Nagato guy started caressing Sasuke's cheeks, Naruto saw red.

One moment he's standing by the closed curtain and the second, his necktie is choking Nagato in the neck. Sasuke stood there shocked as Naruto punched Nagato in the gut. A group of people started gathering towards the trio. Bouncers are quick to come to them.

Naruto raised both his hands in surrender and glared at the man kneeling in front of him clutching his stomach.

"Don't you dare put a finger on him, ever" Naruto says darkly to Nagato. Then he pointed at Sasuke and turned his glare to the dark haired man.

"You"

Naruto's eyes are hard. He held Sasuke's arms and dragged him out of the bar. The crowd parts at the look on Naruto's face. Once outside, Naruto lets go of Sasuke's arms and stomped towards the parking lot where his car is. The blond unlocked the door to his car and opened the passenger's side for Sasuke, then banging the door closed once the Uchiha is seated inside.

Naruto promptly went to his side of the car and closed the door hard.

"You are going to hand in your resignation letter tomorrow" Naruto said when he finally sat down on the driver's seat and started the car.

Sasuke is silent, his eyes are stormy – angry. But at least now, he's not wearing that pretentious bitch face.

"Sasuke, what the hell were you thinking going to a place like that and putting yourself in that situation. I'm pretty sure that's not a face that's willing to kiss someone and not a place to do it either. Fuck and why is your phone turned off?! The hell did you think I'll let you celebrate your birthday alone? Were you that desperate for company? You can call me. Fuck. Sasuke. Why?"

Naruto was driving in the highway way too fast. His voice echoing inside the car and his hands are trembling due to his tight grip of the steering wheel.

Sasuke didn't want to listen but Naruto's words are banging inside his head. Man, he's tired. His body is tired, he doesn't want to think, he doesn't want to feel. So he says the only thing on his mind without resistance.

"I'm sorry…" Sasuke said in a low voice, saying it louder and Naruto might hear the crack in his voice.

Naruto abruptly stopped the car in the emergency lane and abruptly hugged Sasuke. And gods, Sasuke missed this. Sasuke felt himself breathe for the first time since their graduation party. He burrowed his head on Naruto's neck and when Naruto felt warm droplets soak his shirt, he hugged Sasuke tighter.

After what seems like forever, Naruto let go of Sasuke, and released the hand break and started driving. Sasuke looked out of the window for their entire ride.

* * *

Naruto drove Sasuke to his condo in Suna even though it took them hours to get there. The long drive gave Naruto reason to take his mind off of heavy thinking while Sasuke is reclined with his eyes closed, lost in shallow sleep.

The blond nudged Sasuke lightly, indicating their arrival in Suna. Naruto drove around the city with ease and Sasuke tried to fight off the ugly feeling bubbling in his gut.

The building they went into was huge… Naruto's unit is on the 26th floor. They went out of the car and took the elevator with their take-out food.

Naruto is beyond starving given that he hasn't had food since lunch. Naruto's hands are shaking when he held the card key so Sasuke snatched it and swiped it on the card port.

The room is sparse aside from the kitchen containing some utensils and kitchen tools. There's canned food in the cupboard and a couple of ramen cups stacked at the side of the sink. The couch is the only familiar furniture in the room, it was the same couch that Naruto has in his room in Konoha. The walls are bare, in contrast to Naruto's apartment when they were still in the Uni.

"Nice place." Sasuke said blandly. He didn't mean for it to sound so sarcastic but it was out there now, he can't take it back.

"Don't start Sasuke. I'm still mad at you" Naruto placed plates in the table and opened the bottle of juice from the refrigerator. "Besides, I'm going to return this to Itachi next month and look for a smaller place. It's way too big for me"

"Hn"

"He suggested that I rent out the other half of the room but… I know Itachi got this place for you more than me…" Naruto massaged his nape, and stretched his neck from side to side. He feels like a headache coming.

"I did not ask for this, so you can do whatever you want with it…" Sasuke said it as a matter of fact, but the truth still stung and Naruto is done with this passive-aggressive thing from Sasuke.

"Don't be such an asshole. Itachi may seem like cool in the outside but his heart bleeds when you say things like that."

"If you know so much about my brother, why don't you go and just marry him" Sasuke's rolled his eyes, verbal filter long gone just like how he is whenever he's with Naruto.

"Seriously? I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that" Naruto sighed at the amount of maturity he has to deal with Sasuke's teenage angst. He feels like a responsible parent, honestly, and he's barely 21.

"I know your little night talks, you know. And that morning after the grad party, bet you were having a little heart to heart too"

Naruto gaped at that. At what Sasuke was implying.

"What, you think I don't know that the two of you are fucking behind my back?"

"The hell? Now, you're just being ridiculous." Naruto sad down on the chair and motioned Sasuke to do the same. Sasuke sat down but his eyes are just as challenging as Naruto's.

Before Sasuke can even talk again, Naruto placed a chopsticks full of noodles in his mouth making noodle strands hang off of Sasuke's mouth. This made Naruto grin in satisfaction of both shutting him up with angry teenage episode and had the entertainment to make this perfect person look like a fool.

Sasuke almost spit the noodles angrily if not for his stomach growling at the touch of the flavorful broth that hit his tongue. He slowly munched on the food swallowed it then Sasuke snatched the chopsticks from Naruto. He glared at the blond before dragging the bowl closer to him and dug in.

"That's what I thought"

Sasuke can sense Naruto's eyes on him linger before he looked up at him questioningly. Naruto then ate from his bowl, but not before greeting him happy birthday.

It's not the best birthday. But his birthdays seized to be a happy occasion since he was past seven years old so his expectations are quite low.

He's happy to spend it with Naruto, though.

* * *

\- There you go! I'm currently rewriting some of the chapters for a smoother flow, yeaaah...  
\- For all you readers out there, thank you for reading, favorite'ing and following!  
\- I've got at least one or two more chapters left of this and on to the next story!

That's all have a nice day everyone! LONG LIVE SNS! :))


	6. Baby Steps

Chapter 6: Baby Steps

* * *

It's seven in the morning and Sasuke can be found an hour and a half early in his desk going through the haphazardly placed documents in his incoming tray that accumulated within the weekend. The office is humming a soft melody of calmness that will slowly transform into a bustle of footsteps and chatter once office hour starts. For the meantime, Sasuke enjoys the peace.

Drowning himself in work as he shuffles papers and types on his keyboard, he did not immediately notice Nagato's presence at the mouth of his cubicle.

Sasuke can feel eyes roaming around his office space. It's not huge, but it is spacious for four to five people to fit in. It's not like Nagato haven't been to his office before, and Sasuke feels like he should point it out to the man but stopped himself.

"Good morning Nagato" A moment's hesitation "…Sir"

Sasuke's thoughts went back to Friday's events and decided to put up an air of formality between them. Reminding himself that Nagato is a 'boss' and Sasuke is an 'employee' despite being the son of the owner and brother of the branch head.

"Good morning Sasuke" Nagato glanced at the chair in front of Sasuke's desk and back at Sasuke, asking permission to sit down. Sasuke tilted his head as a signal to 'go ahead and sit'.

Sasuke turned to face the other man. Sasuke is glad that Nagato was the one who sought him out because after the Friday incident, Sasuke needed to clear some things out with the man.

"You never told me you have a boyfriend, I was coming onto you" Nagato started while tapping at his desk, irritation evident in his tone although his face matches Sasuke's – indifferent.

"I'm not…" interested. Not finishing his answer because he doesn't need to, the man gets him, he's sure.

Sasuke sighed.

The manager tried to be subdued with his flirtation in the office and around their colleagues, but the attempt to bait Sasuke is there all the same. Sasuke is guilty of indulging the man with casual touches and intelligent conversation, for as long as he does not cross the line.

Of course that was until last Friday when he had a temporary lapse in judgement and agreed to come with the man in that darn sex club and onto their VIP lounge - alone while slightly inebriated, and no way to contact him because he chose to listen to his inner demons and shut off his phone while having an internal pity party on his birthday.

Nevertheless, he's not the one who was choked and punched in the gut.

"I'm sorry for last Friday. Naruto is… I didn't mean for it to happen" And he finds himself referring both about coming with Nagato in the club and Naruto going hulk mode on him "He's a friend, uh, best friend, sometimes he can be over the top protective…"

Sasuke tried to stop himself from fidgeting at the intense look of curiosity from the other man.

"Best friend"

"Yes"

Suddenly, best friend is a word too shallow to describe their relationship and the way it sounds from Nagato's lips is like mockery. The urge to explain is high but really, he doesn't need to explain anything to anyone.

"Quite intense for a best friend, don't you think?"

Sasuke finds himself checking his phone not bothering to answer. His silence is a resounding dismissal of the conversation.

Cleary, Nagato left Sasuke in a position where he starts to question his life. So what if Nagato is insinuating that Naruto is more than a best friend? A lot of other people think the same way, heck, even Itachi thinks that, and it never bothered him before. Why be bothered by it now?

If Naruto's actions towards Sasuke screams boyfriend, it's because Naruto's just being… Naruto. That's how he is, that's how Sasuke knows him from the very start. Overly protective and possessive, bordering on obsessive especially with his family and friends.

He is who he is, and Sasuke never once questioned it, until this moment.

Nagato rapping on his table made Sasuke look back to Nagato. Noticing that a lot more people are walking across the corridor. With a final tap on his desk, Nagato straightened to go.

"You're lucky to have a friend like that"

"Hmm…" Sasuke winced at the mention of 'friend' like he suddenly developed some sort of allergy to it.

"I'll get out of your hair"

Sasuke wishes the other man means he won't bother him ever again.

* * *

Sasuke found himself itching out of his skin, he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Surprising his staff with a spot inspection sure took the bulk of his time, but the buzz under his skin is making him easy to aggravate than usual. Most of his officemates are giving him a wide berth knowing from experience that pissed off Uchihas are downright callous and they're pretty sure that the youngest of them is not an exception.

Never before had Sasuke been grateful of paper work like he does now. The repetitive nature of the task gives his mind a sense of clarity that lulls him in an illusion of peace. That was until he listened to the soft taunting whispers from his early conversation with Nagato.

Well, it's not like Sasuke lied to him. Naruto is and will always be his best friend.

What does that even mean to him anymore?

There's no doubt that only one person holds that place in Sasuke's life. But what bothers him more is the fact that he's never been able to define what it really means to both of them.

Sasuke is suddenly reminded of his drunken kiss to Naruto months earlier and the turmoil he felt the next morning.

Okay, so let's say that he's harboring some veiled desire to kiss his best friend, they're not kissing just for the heck of it – they're not lovers. And surely, they don't do it just because it feels great or use each other for some kind of sexual release – they're not fuck buddies. So that leaves them at a limbo.

So Sasuke kissed Naruto and he liked it, so what? He was drunk, people kiss their friends all the time at least once.

Problem is, he finds himself wanting to do it again which is kind of wrong because last time he checked, he's not gay. As a proof of that there was no amount of response his dick made when Nagato was hovering over him last Friday and mind you, he's not a bad looking person.

Paper work be damned, it's not as distracting as he once thought.

Standing up, Sasuke thought it's time for another surprise inspection!

By the end of his hours, Sasuke is desperate to go home with the thought of food and sleep. He was just walking on to the lobby when he saw a familiar blond head casually flirting with their receptionist, Haku. Sasuke's heart dropped to the floor for a second, confused as hell whether to be happy that Naruto is there, or be annoyed that he's actually now friends with their receptionist.

Maybe he should grow his hair longer - the blond seems to like people with long hair.

The thought caught him off guard since when did he care that Naruto wants long haired guys?

Haku saw him walking out of the elevator, the man's smile is sickeningly sweet. The receptionist tilted his head to his side before patting Naruto's arms to his direction.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, beaming, blinding.

"Sasuke!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm on leave until Friday!" Naruto grinned while scratching the back of his head, nervously looking at Sasuke. He still can't think of a valid reason why he was there aside from the fact that he kind of miss his parents and most importantly he wanted to catch up.

"Why? What happened?" Concern covered Sasuke's face at the idea of something bad happening to Naruto or his family.

"Hey, hey… nothing's wrong! I'm just here to visit…"

"Oh, okay… that long?"

Maybe telling the truth is the way to go, besides, Naruto is not one to successfully hide secrets from Sasuke.

"I'll be visiting mom and dad… and you know… make sure you don't go to sex clubs with maniacs"

"That was a one-time thing" Sasuke hissed under his breath and started to walk faster when he noticed that Naruto was not listening in favor of waving goodbye to Haku.

"Hey Sasuke! Wait!"

"Couldn't you get any slower? I'm starving" Sasuke forced between clenched teeth.

"What's gotten –" Naruto paused and looked at Sasuke's face, then realization hit him and he jumped in front of Sasuke grinning from ear to ear "I know that look!"

Never have Sasuke found it challenging to maintain an impassive face at the moment.

"That's your jealous face!"

"I don't have a jealous face" Sasuke pushed Naruto's face in front of him with the palm of his hand.

"You so have a jealous face" Naruto teased as he dragged Sasuke by the shoulders towards his car.

* * *

Naruto parked his car in front of Sasuke's house practically vibrating with unease that made Sasuke turn to the blond, expectantly.

Being with Naruto always gives him a sense of self that he cannot feel with anyone else, sometimes, even with Itachi. The feeling of comfort and general feeling of happiness rings true up until now. Tonight though, Naruto is holding something back, as evidenced by the fact that Naruto can't seem to hold himself still even for a second.

"Uh, so… Sasuke… did you… you know?" Naruto is determinedly not looking Sasuke in the eye, still unable to find the same conviction he did the last time he told Sasuke to resign last Friday.

Sasuke squinted at the obvious display of restlessness. "What?"

Naruto straightened at the irate tone from the other man, and finally, finally he established eye contact.

"Did you hand Itachi your resignation letter, yet?"

It was now Sasuke's turn to avoid Naruto's steady gaze. He should have known that this is what's bothering Naruto for days, Naruto never lets things like that slip away. He thought Naruto cried resignation at the heat of the moment, something that was just said for flair, he forgot the fact that Naruto always means what he says.

"I did not…"

There's a pregnant pause neither of them wanted to break because talking about it will open a whole bunch of uglies.

"I just thought that… you would, because…"

Apparently, Naruto is willing to let it all the uglies out tonight because he was pushing through with the topic instead of shrugging it off like Sasuke is more than ready to do.

"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice is low with warning. Hoping that the blond will just let it slide, at least for now.

Naruto groaned, defeated, but Sasuke can see fire in the blond's eyes like a promise that sooner or later they'll be talking about it again. For now, Sasuke's just glad that Naruto left it at that.

"Okay… okay. I get it, I don't want to fight, let's just –"

"Did you say anything to my brother?"

"No! I did not… I… didn't say anything…"

Sasuke looked at him suspiciously because god knows how much talking the two of them are having. Itachi knowing what happened will complicate things at home and in the office. Sasuke prefers not to shake things up just because of some misunderstanding.

"I swear Sasuke... I don't want to get ahead of you…" Naruto raised his right hand in a promise "And besides I respect you, you know, even though you apparently visit prestigious sex clubs… with creepy managers"

There's a hint of teasing and annoyance lacing Naruto's statement. And even if Sasuke feels guilty about it, he can't help but roll his eyes at his friend's pettiness.

"Good."

Naruto's smile is gentle and Sasuke can't help himself, he found himself smiling back.

"So… when are you going to submit –"

Sasuke opened the door and walked out of the car promptly closing it, shutting Naruto out. Naruto opened the window and continued his question "-your resignation letter?"

Sasuke cupped his ears, feigning deafness. "I can't hear you! Go away!"

"You're never getting rid of me Sasuke! Remember that!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke's heart pounded in his chest, his hands are trembling as he struggled to put the key in the door knob, forgetting that Itachi is home early today and there's a perfectly placed doorbell to his left. The realness of the situation is finally catching up to him and he's a bit overwhelmed.

Once the door was opened he went inside but not before raising his middle finger towards Naruto.

"I love you too asshole!" Naruto shouted as he drove away from Sasuke's house.

When Sasuke finally closed the door behind him, he banged his head twice on the door forcing his heart to calm the fuck down because, what the hell? Naruto's just being an idiot like he always is.

The only problem is, he totally can't wipe the smirk off his face.

* * *

The night wind is whipping across Naruto's face as he steadily drives through the night street to towards his parent's house.

He still doesn't know what to do with his 5-day leave of absence or his abrupt decision for it. He hasn't even told his parents that he'll be coming home or thought of where he's gonna live for the mean time – though obviously, it's going to be with the Uchihas.

The only clear thing in his head right now is the image of Sasuke uncomfortably squirming under the malicious stare of some maniac. He wanted Sasuke out of that man's sight forever.

Naruto forced himself to calm down and lift his foot from the gas pedal. If only he could convince Sasuke to resign.

'Tough luck with that' Naruto thought.

But everyone who knows Naruto also knows that he is just as hardheaded as Sasuke, so they'll just have to see whose will of stone wins in the end.

For the mean time, he sends a message to Itachi asking for permission to stay at their house for the rest of his four days in Konoha.

If Friday taught him something, it was that he needs to gather his courage and come clean with his feelings and this time, he's not going to chicken out. Because damn it if he ever sees anyone take advantage of Sasuke again just because he's at a low point or he's wants to start exploring his new found sexuality. If that's the case, then he's not going to let anyone else do it. And if he ends up being Sasuke's gay experiment then so be it, at least he's sure that Sasuke never gets hurt in any way.

* * *

"In a good mood, little brother?"

Sasuke jumped as Itachi poked his head in the foyer with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Sasuke forcibly schooled his face back to normal.

"Hn"

"Dinner's in the kitchen if you're hungry"

"Done!" Sasuke yelped hurriedly, panic slowly rising in his gut.

"May I ask with whom?" With Itachi's signature smiling with glee face, he took pleasure in seeing Sasuke battle to get his shoes from his toes given that he's too focused on keeping his balance on one leg.

Sasuke's body went rigid with paranoia: What if Naruto actually told Itachi what happened? What if Itachi knows everything and is just baiting him? What if Itachi thinks Naruto and him…?

"Naruto. He just dropped me by, he's visiting his parents" Sasuke said in one breath and winced at how defensive it sounds.

Calm the fuck down, Sasuke! He berated himself while hastily wriggling out of his shoe that is currently stuck in the umbrella stand. How it happened, he doesn't care for as long as Itachi leaves him alone.

"Ohh… that explains the smiling", Itachi motioned at his face, "swoon a little more and you'll look like a love struck –"

Itachi continued to tease the younger Uchiha until finally Sasuke was able to regain some composure from removing his shoes.

"Yadda, yadda, I'm going to bed"

Sasuke shut the door to his room and placed his wallet on his dresser beside the glass box where he placed Naruto's necklace.

Seeing Naruto so soon after the weekend is a welcome surprise. To say that he had a good time spending time with his best friend is an understatement, which is quite amusing because they never did anything out of the ordinary:

After their shared meal of take-out and birthday greetings, Sasuke collapsed on the bed and slept, fatigue catching up to him. If Naruto complained about Sasuke hogging the bed, he didn't care – it was his birthday after all.

Waking up at 10:30 in the morning felt glorious especially to the sight and smell of ordered in pizza and fries. The whole afternoon was dedicated to playing in the arcades at the mall and capping the day off with a movie. It's a familiar routine back in high school up until college. He never knew it felt this liberating to do it again after a long time.

Where did people around him get the idea that he was heard to please? Clearly, he was just as simple minded as Naruto.

Now that he thought about Naruto, he started to wonder whether he had that kind of days with Neji? There's a high probability that yes, Naruto must have done it with the guy. It leaves a stale taste in his mouth to acknowledge it.

He wants to be the only one who gets to spend days like that with Naruto. As petty as that sounds, he knows it's impossible but the desire is there anyhow.

"Sasuke" Itachi knocked before opening the door to peep his head inside, "Naruto's staying with us tomorrow night until Friday, so be sure to set up the guest room"

"Why do you even bother?" Sasuke scoffed because, really, there's no preparation needed to be done. Naruto is more at home in this house that the brothers.

"You're right… He'll sleep in here anyway"

Sasuke opened his mouth but he can't think of any comeback so he just closed his mouth. Itachi looked triumphant. That shit.

The older Uchiha was about to close the door when Sasuke remembered something.

"Itachi" Sasuke paused before continuing, knowing that it's a bad idea to ask but is too curious to know. "Did you and Naruto have or had any… involvements?"

"Involvement? You mean if we have a 'thing' or we had sex?" Itachi looked at him funny like it was the stupidest joke he ever heard in his life.

Sasuke wanted to back out, tell his brother never mind, but did not do so.

"Yes… that"

Itachi gave Sasuke a hard stare and it's unnerving.

"Hmmm… No we did not have any 'involvements'"

Sasuke felt like a boulder has been lifted from his mind at Itachi's answer. He doesn't think they have something either but he cannot help but wonder. Itachi and Naruto are pretty tight with each other, Naruto grew up with both of them after all.

"Okay"

"Interesting… why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just making sure"

"Making sure that your brother and boyfriend is not doing the nasty without you?"

Sasuke had to blush at that because, really?! There's a difference between asking whether they had sex and his actual brother suggesting that Sasuke wanted to join them while the both of them are having imaginary sex. He scrunched his face.

"You're gross"

"Good night, little brother"

"And we're not boyfriends!"

"Yet!"

* * *

Sasuke felt his bed dip near his shoulders and a soft voice whispering above his ears.

"Sasuke"

"Mmm?"

"Sasuke"

"Mmm?"

Sasuke burrowed his face in his pillow and faced the wall, willing himself to hold on to the last dregs of sleep as he can. Hardly paying attention to the voice calling out to him. A few moments pass and he felt himself relax, drifting off to sleep again.

"Sasuke"

The voice is clearer now… and familiar, very much familiar.

"What"

"Sasuke"

"What do you –"

Sasuke abruptly faced the other side of his bed to confront the idiot who's disturbing his precious sleep. There in his bed is Naruto's head comfortably propped against his arms, looking at Sasuke with a tender look on his face.

"Haha! I heard you, I was just messing around" The blond whispered. Naruto smiled at him and brushed some strands of hair from his forehead.

Sasuke gazed at Naruto, directly meeting his bright blues. He reached out to weakly flick Naruto's nose. Naruto exhaled with a laugh.

"Good morning, Sasuke"

The sound of his alarm clock echoed through the room and turned off the alarm button on his phone, once again drifting off to sleep, only to be woken up again by the same alarm.

Sasuke opened his eyes and reached for his phone in the pillow beside his head but not finding it there. He was a bit disoriented when he saw the phone placed in his bedside drawer, with no trace of Naruto's presence.

A glimmer of light caught his eye coming from the necklace that Naruto gave him. A small amount of sunlight is reflecting prisms through the room like a rainbow in the dark.

Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed deeply feeling helpless at the barrage of emotions coursing through him.

* * *

Notes:

This took waaaay longer than expected, and shorter than I planned, but it's here! Cheers! Thank you for reading!

Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine and no one else's. PM or comment for errors or really, for anything. I'm lonely, let's talk.

Thank you for the reviews! I'll send a reply to you guys, promise! Honestly, I prefer writing one-shots than multi-chapters... I obviously need to brush up on my writing more. XD


	7. Touch Move

**Chapter 7: Touch Move**

* * *

 **I just to get this out of my system so I can finally, finally, concentrate on my other stories! XD! Also, this is getting out of hand, I'm not going to be able to finish this one in one or two chapters. What.**

 **Okay go on, read.**

 **Characters are not mine, un-beta'd, mistakes are all mine. Drop me a review? :)**

* * *

Waiting for the day to end is killing him!

In between bouts of clerical work and flashbacks of Naruto's idiot face, and the anticipation of seeing the said blond just hours from now is too much for his fragile, beating heart to handle. That, or the fact that he's suddenly become a dramatic actress on a late night rom-com television series.

The last one seems to be more fitting.

At least it doesn't feel like he's having a cloud of gloom hanging above his head like usual. He hates to admit it, but the sudden reunion with the blond helped him feel a little bit lighter. Moreover, he's relieved that Nagato is out of the equation and is planning to keep it that way.

Another thing that's consistently pestering his mind is the idea of resignation, he's seriously considering it but hesitant to go through with it because it means that, once again, he let himself be swayed by Naruto's babbling about resignation and it's pissing him off.

During their time apart, he was doing just fine with getting by himself, carrying the consequences of his decisions and he's okay with it because it was his mistakes and he will own it. Oh, he wanted to contradict the blond so much just to agitate him. But really, who was he kidding? A part of his person is almost willing to make Naruto as an excuse to get out of this situation. It won't be hard to just drop everything in here, he's just a mere employee, not even a manager. But he knows he needs to find it in himself to have the right reason for doing things.

Sasuke is a very smart man, but sometimes, he just lack in EQ, and feelings can be too much to handle, he doesn't manage it at all. That's the reason why he often finds himself drawn to Naruto because he's full of emotions and seem to be driven by it.

Now, if only he can find make everything in perspective again. He needs a new life plan.

A message notification disrupted his thoughts. Trust Naruto to sneak his way to Sasuke's time even though he's far away.

 _Go home early, let's talk._

So, Naruto is at home already. It's almost 5 anyway… just an hour more…

The thought of talking with Naruto is making him anxious.

Now what does Naruto want?

A sit down meeting with Itachi? But Itachi said that he'll be out of town until Thursday. He mentioned something about a meeting in Wave with their father.

A spiel to convince him to quit his job?

Sasuke might be overthinking it, but he'll can never be complacent if it's with Naruto, with the blond, anything is possible. Who knows what goes inside that thick head of his.

* * *

Naruto's car is parked in their garage, in place of Itachi's.

He sighed, commuting home from work is tiring but he cannot always wait for Itachi to go home late at night. Itachi's work hours are not fixed and most of the time, he needs the car to go to places. He cannot still afford to buy his own, and if he did, maintaining it would be much more of a hassle. It doesn't mean he doesn't like driving… or that he doesn't want to own one.

Sasuke pushed the doorbell remembering that Naruto is in the house. He felt jittery all at once. Naruto opened the door like he actually lives in there. He's even wearing an apron that neither the brothers are using.

Sasuke gave him a once over. Naruto actually looks good.

"Welcome home, Sasuke!" Naruto said enthusiastically. Damn, the warm welcome reminds him of Kushina.

Naruto promptly closed and locked the door as Sasuke removed his shoes.

The soft sound of the lock made Sasuke's heart jump in his throat. The realization that he'll be as alone as he can be with Naruto is making him light-headed. He suddenly felt like a wild animal suddenly trapped inside a large lavish cage. He can run and hide but never escape.

He can hear Naruto from the kitchen, humming happily while he putters around the stove and sets the table. Sasuke shakes his head to dispel the sudden feeling of uneasiness. This is person is Naruto, the bubbly ray of sunshine that saved him from gloomy days and more.

With a renewed sense of stability, he followed the aroma of freshly cooked food.

* * *

"Remember that one time in college?"

Sasuke raised his head from his half eaten rice bowl with a look that says, go on.

"When I told you I'd date Neji?"

Sasuke can clearly remember, alright. He was shocked and hurt and angry he wanted to shave Neji's hair off. It just surprised Sasuke that Naruto wanted to have an intimate relationship with another guy who he barely knew and vice versa.

But who was he to talk when at that moment, he got himself a girlfriend without even telling his closest friend.

"Is this the 'talk' you texted me earlier? What, you're getting back together?"

Sasuke tried to keep the edge out of his tone, the keyword, tried. He saw Naruto wince.

"Huh, no. I told you before, it wasn't serious" Naruto sipped some water before he continued. "I was going through a phase during that time, self-discovery that kind of thing. And you know what? I'm just saying that if you ever find yourself… exploring, you know, other options… I'm here for you."

"Is this still about –"

Naruto cut him short there because Sasuke is going to get all defensive on him, he just needs Sasuke to accept.

"I'm just saying… that you have me. Because I…" Naruto backpedaled.

Maybe starting the conversation with 'that one time in college' is not the best intro for an honest to god love confession. It just occurred to Naruto that he was unprepared. All the thinking he did last night, and all the times he spend daydreaming of the day he'll confess to Sasuke all flew out of the window all because failed to think everything through.

Most of all, Sasuke will get all the wrong idea.

"You…?"

Sasuke placed his bowl down and was looking at Naruto spot on. Naruto on the other hand has no choice but to carry on and salvage this half assed confession.

"Because I… I don't want you getting hurt. Because I care for you, and I… lo-"

"Where is this going Naruto?"

Sasuke is plainly pissed off by now. His eyes are sharp, accusing even.

Naruto does not have the courage to continue. For all the times he's been bold enough to stand and fight by Sasuke's side, this one thing that matters the most, he cannot do. Naruto spread his hands down his face in resignation.

"I just want you to know that you don't need to go to other people if you want to experiment on some things… I'm literally… here"

Sasuke stared at Naruto not believing his ears. Is he suggesting what Sasuke thinks he's suggesting?

"Naruto I'm not-"

"-gay… I know. See, the thing is, you could be bi-sexual. You kissed me before, you know"

"I was DRUNK!"

The blond could be laughing at Sasuke's face right now if he's not busy screaming at himself in anguish on the inside.

"I know, I know… but-"

"I swear Naruto, I'm gonna stab you with this in the neck" Sasuke held up the chopsticks he's clenching on his hand, imagining it actually is Naruto's neck.

"Okay! Okay shutting up" And true to his word, Naruto never spoke a word for the rest of the meal.

* * *

That night, Naruto went straight to Sasuke's room getting the spare mattress on the guest room and set up his own sleeping space beside Sasuke' bed. Naruto thought of sleeping on the guest room but thought against it because it will just make the situation more awkward that it already is.

Sasuke cannot sleep. But faked his sleeping. Their conversation is on replay inside his head,

Come to think of it, maybe the dream he had was a premonition.

He's been friends with Naruto for as long as he can remember and yes, he can honestly admit to himself now, that he finds Naruto appealing. Maybe this is his body telling him to have a taste. Then hopefully this thing with Naruto will go away, he just needed to exhaust it out of his system and things will go back to the time when he can look at Naruto straight in the eye without his body and mind overreacting.

"Urgh" Sasuke wanted to bang his head on the wall at the thought.

Sasuke suddenly found himself peeking at the edge of his bed, looking at Naruto's peacefully sleeping form with arms wide open, goading Sasuke to "Come at me, bastard", like how he always does when he wants to provoke Sasuke in to a fight.

Thank god, Naruto is not ugly. Actually, he's quite handsome… ruggedly handsome. Feeling a bit bold, he propped his head on his hands, elbows bent on the edge of the bed to take a better look at Naruto.

His body is fit, Sasuke observes as his eyes flitted over Naruto's exposed midsection, his flat stomach and the cut of his hipbones. Sasuke gulped at sudden awareness, its become warm, so very warm.

He moved his legs from underneath his blanket to expose his limbs to the cool air coming from the window. Unfortunately, his elbow slipped from the bed at the sudden pull of the blanket below his arm. He was in time to stop his upper body from crashing head first to Naruto's, his head merely an inch away from the other's face, his lips are literally just a hairsbreadth away from the blond.

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" Naruto murmured still with his eyes closed.

Sasuke found himself frozen in place. The silence is deafening, their breaths fanning each other's faces.

"Go back to bed and we'll never talk about this again." The blond whispered.

Curse Naruto to seven hells for saying it like that. Like a dare, like a friggin' insult. Naruto knows how much Sasuke hates backing down from a challenge.

Sasuke leaned in, closing the gap between them, a heavy press of his lips to the other. Sasuke's arms wobbled at the weight of his body and the weird fold of his elbow, so he lifted his head and broke the kiss.

Sasuke's head hit the pillow on the bed with a plop.

His heart is hammering, his lips are burning, and his mind is racing in a blur of thoughts.

There's no movement below which indicates Naruto is awake or alive. Maybe, he was just… sleep talking.

Right.

Sleep talking.

Right.

Sasuke clung to that thought like a lifeline. But beyond Sasuke's better judgment, instead of just leaving it at that, he called out to Naruto.

"Naruto…"

"Hmm?"

So much for sleep talking.

"About what you said… that you're always… here" Sasuke swallowed hard, hesitating to say the words but with mind as clear as day. "I… I'd like to try."

Sasuke is hoping that Naruto will take pity on him and not let him spell it out to him.

"Try what Sasuke?"

But of course, the little shit will make this hard for Sasuke.

"Urgh. Never mind you –"

"Just spit it out, Sasuke" Naruto is now sitting down on the floor looking as he carefully map out Sasuke's outline lying down on the bed.

"I'd like to try… with you… I think I might be – "Sasuke stopped because Naruto is too close, too close that his lips are touching his again. Naruto climbed the bed and went to the other side of Sasuke's near the wall. He rolled Sasuke's body to face him as they both settle comfortably.

"It's okay… I'll take care of you"

Naruto's blue eyes are bright even in the dark. Sasuke's heart is still beating wildly even more in his chest at the sight, it's making his palms clammy and cold.

Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded.

Naruto pecked on his lips once more and brushed some hair off Sasuke's face. Sasuke is clearly reminded of the dream he had that morning and felt some sense of comfort at the déjà vu.

This is Naruto, he may act like an idiot sometimes, but his heart is gold, and his love, even more so.

Sasuke drifted off to sleep.

Naruto's hands are warm against Sasuke's cheeks.

Whatever happened tonight, he'll think about it tomorrow.

Right now, Sasuke looks peaceful and his heart is at ease at having Sasuke so, so physically close even for a short period of time. Right now, he's going to enjoy this moment for he knows that they'll eventually end up being hurt because gods, he knows this is going to get ugly.

But right now he has this.

* * *

Naruto woke up earlier than Sasuke to prepare breakfast. It's the only thing that he can do to calm the steady thrum of nerves that's making him jittery. It doesn't really help that he keeps on banging the pans in the kitchen because his hands just can't stay still.

If Sasuke wakes up with regret about what happened last night, then he'll treasure the memory of their kiss with an aching heart…

If Sasuke does want to push through with it, then… he'll just have to make sure to give Sasuke what he wants or needs or whatever. Naruto already told himself a million times that he's going to take whatever it is that Sasuke is willing to give. He'll let Sasuke dictate where this is going.

"What the hell?" Sasuke emerged to the kitchen, his hair is disheveled and rubbing his eyes. "You're so noisy"

"Sorry… did I wake you?" Naruto asked sheepishly.

"Yes" Sasuke propped his chin on Naruto's shoulders to look over what the blond is cooking. Naruto almost dropped the spatula he was holding.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked taking the spatula out of Naruto's hands and shooing him away from the stove.

"Look, about last night…"

"I said I wanted to try… If I knew you'd be like this, then forget it. To think you were the one who offered" Sasuke said as he turned off the fire and transferred the omelet on a serving plate.

"Sasuke, no… I mean, what do you even want to try?" Naruto asked in a manner that reminded him of that time took when he was still a whiny teenager.

"I don't know yet… but please stop it with this… "Sasuke gestured to all of Naruto. "Will you just relax? Its irritating. Just be yourself. I should be the one who's supposed to be nervous here, not you"

Naruto visibly relaxed.

Sasuke did not mention any unrealistic expectations, that's a good sign, right? He just needs to be himself. Then, alright… That's easy. Just act normal. It's not like you're suddenly involved in a romantic relationship, nope. You're still in the friendship zone… one that kisses the other and vice versa… yeah… these thoughts are not helping at all.

Naruto berated himself.

"I'm sorry, but you were molesting me in my sleep" The blond whined. Sasuke is not impressed.

"Shall I do it now that you're awake?"

Naruto sputtered at his milk. If this is the Sasuke he's going to get from now on, then he better prepare himself for torture.

* * *

Naruto tried his best to keep his hands to himself and let Sasuke approach him but it really, it's easier said than done. He's a naturally physical person – he thrives in human contact, in touches and hugs and kisses. In gestures that says, you are special while fixing your hair.

So, yes, keeping his hands to himself come with a challenge when he happened to see Sasuke combing his hair in the mirror near the foyer looking crisp and ready to slay the day with his office uniform.

"Need a ride?"

"I could use one"

Still with an apron hanging around his neck, Naruto was overcome with glee at the domesticity. He strode towards Sasuke and flattened the crease on his polo shirt that was purely imaginary because really, Sasuke is a neat freak.

Sasuke is looking at him funny but let Naruto brush some more of those non-existent folds and dirt on his clothes. He must admit, Naruto sure is cute.

It was when the Naruto's hands wandered over his pants that he pushed Naruto with a glare. The cheeky blond raised his hands in innocent surrender.

* * *

Naruto stopped in front of Uchiha Corp. with a hazard light. He unlocked the door car and Sasuke unhooked his seatbelt.

"So, see you later?"

"Hmm"

Just as Sasuke was about to open the door, he was pulled towards the center of the car with a pair of soft lips pressed on his cheek, then it was gone. His arm is free and he's gently being nudged towards the door.

Sasuke stared at Naruto in shock while the other man is avoiding his gaze.

Sasuke's heart ached at the sight in front of him – of Naruto with his red face and uncertain eyes, who looks embarrassed but proud at the same time.

Sasuke leaned over and cupped Naruto's cheeks, forcing him to look in his direction. He mustered all understanding in that one look.

"Hey" _We're still us._ Sasuke wanted to say but the words are stuck, it's hard to breathe.

Naruto seemed to get it though, his eyes grew more steady and sure.

"Don't be late, I hate waiting" Sasuke said before finally opening the door and walking to the steps of the building.

* * *

It's still early when Naruto got back to the house and he's desperate for to get his mind out of thinking. All these thoughts are draining him out. He can feel the phantom of Sasuke's lips from last night and he can't let himself dwell on it too much because that's all he's going to do the whole day. But he allows himself to feel those lips on him and giggle at the memory.

AH, it feels great.

Well, he's got the whole house to himself and the furniture looks like they need some dusting. This house feels like a second home, and he's thankful that the Uchihas treat him like family. The least he can do is treat their abode like how he does his own, by taking care of it too.

He knows that Itachi and Sasuke are overly clean creatures but knowing them, their schedule does not permit them to clean as thoroughly. Maybe he should part time as their house help.

After gathering the needed tools and materials needed to clean the house, he plugged his phone to the sound system and Naruto started scrubbing with every inch of his life's joys and frustrations which features Sasuke, of course, no doubt about it.

He moved with every intention of leaving the kitchen, living room, foyer and bathroom purged of every impurity. He'll clean the second floor tomorrow.

In the midst of dusting and wiping the grime off the sleek cabinet which holds the game console, under the mounted TV, he saw a collection of books that are neatly arranged on one of its compartments. It's a collection of gardening books, like an encyclopedia with five volumes.

He reached for the first volume and opened the hard bound cover, dust billowed from it. The book is without crease like it was the first time it was being opened. He's almost sure that it belongs to Itachi… but Itachi never buys things he doesn't need, much more something that he has no intention of using or in this case, reading. So it must be Sasuke's.

He carefully wiped the books and placed it back to its compartment.

* * *

Six hours later, he slumped down on the couch, satisfied with the sparkly state of the house. He can't wait to see Sasuke's face once he sees the more than sparkly state of their house. He's quite proud of himself – he really does make a good housekeeper.

He sniggered at the thought of pissing Sasuke off by wearing a bright pink frilly apron with bunnies on them then groaned in disbelief as his mind supplied an image of Sasuke in said apron, lazily leaned back against the kitchen counter with a demanding look on his face.

"Urggh" As much as he like seeing Sasuke smile, seeing him looking like an unsympathetic bastard turns him on too.

Naruto leaned his head further on the couch, looking at the ceiling.

He's a hopeless fool, like a boomerang that always comes back to its source. That's the clincher isn't it? That he will always come running, walking and crawling back to Sasuke no matter how much distance or time they spend apart, because of his one track mind that refuses to let go of things once he's decided to own them forever.

Raising his hands to the ceiling, he noticed the wrinkles covering his hand, they feel dry with the amount of bleach and detergent from cleaning the soiled rags. Naruto stood up to take a bath when he remembered the books he saw earlier and decided to borrow the first volume from the gardening book collection and placed it in the coffee table for easier access once he's done cleaning himself up.

There's a relatively big garden at the back of the house where Itachi, Sasuke and Naruto sometimes hang out. After bathing, he went to the garden and surveyed the area.

Smiling, he remembered that Itachi, Sasuke and Naruto used to hang out there. It was landscaped, but once they started to get busy from school and Itachi, from work, maintaining the garden is least of their priorities. Now, it's just a space filled with grass and random plants that are left to grow. It's not looking bad, the grass is just shy of being thick, probably it's being mowed once every two weeks or so, but it's definitely not as pretty as back then.

At the far corner of the garden there is a row of familiar looking plant. They are far from looking like they've been taken care of, but they look like they're surviving. He also saw a sack of fertilizer and watering can near the tomatoes. He cautiously stepped over the grass towards the tomato plants, some of it are ripe and red, ready for picking.

With a renewed sense of purpose, he went back to the house, with an armful of tomatoes. An idea forming inside his head.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the couch reading. He glanced at the clock and saw that it's almost five in the afternoon. Naruto patted the pockets of his jeans to make sure that his car keys and wallet are there before coming out of the house to pick up Sasuke. He's already itching for Sasuke's presence but also, his body is still pleasantly sore from all the scrubbing he did… Maybe he should let Sasuke drive… let the Uchiha make it up to him.

Driving to the office was smooth and quick although rush hour traffic is already starting. Automatic doors opened to let him in the office, the guards nod at him in recognition.

Haku is talking to someone on the phone but the other saw him walk through the doors and readily smiled at the blond. The sweet smile that the other man gave him is a welcome invitation to talk. Remembering the look on Sasuke's face the last time he saw Naruto talking to the man, he settled on waving hello at Haku with a huge smile and sat down on one of the couches in the lounge with the gardening book.

* * *

It's ten minutes past six in the evening when Sasuke alighted from the elevator, looking spent but unsurprisingly, still composed and… good looking.

Dark eyes roamed his eyes over the lobby and saw Naruto at the far corner of the lounge, all his attention poured over the book he's currently reading. Against his better judgement, he glanced towards Haku and might have not gave him a bit of a smug look, Haku on the other hand just tilted his head on the side like he always does. It's supposed to be cute but to Sasuke it's actually a bit annoying.

Sasuke made his way towards his best friend and stopped in front of him. Naruto looked up at the figure towering in front of him and huffed a laugh.

"Bad day?"

"The worst"

How dare Naruto laugh like that so easily and make Sasuke feel like kissing him again. Because, that's what he wants to do now… not to mention that his day at work is peppered with memories and sensations of Naruto's lips on his. He shook his head. This is not the right time or place for that, especially not in his father's office.

"What's that?" Sasuke glimpsed at the book that Naruto is holding. It looks familiar.

"Oh! This yours?" Naruto asked showing Sasuke the book.

"It's a gift from Itachi, from when you were giving me those tomato plants"

Naruto laughed, and it's carefree and light. Sasuke wanted to hide it from the world.

"I knew it, can I borrow it? Unless you suddenly want to read it after it collected dust bunnies under the TV" The request is enthusiastic and there's a hint of teasing laced with it. It's a normal thing for both of them but still, something warm is enveloping Sasuke's heart at this moment. Like his eyes are opened to a new reality in HD, like the realness of Naruto's smattering freckles on his face and the way Naruto's chapped lips move as he talks.

Sasuke is sucked back to his father's office where tall chandeliers hang from the high ceiling of the lobby and familiar blurry faces are making their way to the exit. He is sucked back to the real now where Naruto is standing in front of him holding a gardening book, teasing him, as usual.

"Haha. Hilarious." Sasuke rolled his eyes but his lips are tugged upward in a conservative smile.

"So how bout we grab some dinner huh? Wanna drive?"

Sasuke's face lit up but hid his delight with a cough. Naruto sure wished that he has some weird camera eyes where he can save every expression in Sasuke's face.

"Sure"

The blond held Sasuke's shoulders and turned him towards the exit.

* * *

"Hey! Careful! I just cleaned that!" Naruto grabbed the can of beer from Sasuke's hand. It almost spilled to the carpet when the dark haired man opened it.

After dining out in some fast food, they brought a six pack of beer and some snacks and watch a movie to pass time before calling it a night.

Opting to sit on the floor, Sasuke and Naruto placed some throw pillows around them. Some cans of beers both empty and unopened are littered on the carpet together with some crumbs of chips. The blond's shoulders as he took in the now less than spotless state of the carpet, well, it won't be sparkling clean forever.

Grabbing the opened can of beer from Naruto, Sasuke smirked at Naruto's pouting face. They're both on their second can of beer, feeling relaxed but not quite buzzed. As Sasuke drank from the can, Naruto found himself following the movement of Sasuke's throat as he swallowed some of the alcohol, he gulped.

"Sasuke, were you serious?"

"Serious with what?"

"With… you know" The blond vaguely gestured between the both of them. "It could get awkward"

Waiting for Sasuke to answer is making Naruto itch, but he can't exactly shake Sasuke for answers. It will defeat the purpose of acting like civilized people having a proper conversation about the serious things in life. Also, it doesn't help that Sasuke refuses to answer, or more like does not know how to answer.

"I guess… we don't want things getting awkward between us" The shrug and side glance that Sasuke threw back to Naruto is small but shows how uncomfortable he is about the topic.

It's not like Sasuke doesn't know that the both of them needs to talk about this. At least he knows that Naruto won't let this go, he's too bull headed for that. So here Sasuke is, going through the motions of the conversation he prefers not to have.

Silence hangs in the air, even the gunshots coming from the TV cannot break the hush between the friends.

None of them are voicing their intent to back out, but neither knew how to go from there. Should they just kiss and get on with it? Sasuke had the mind to have second thoughts about the situation, maybe this is a really bad idea, says the tiny little voice on his head which was overpowered by a very loud protest from the other imprudent part of his brain.

Sasuke picked up his can of beer and glanced at Naruto who is looking back at him, as if waiting for him to be the one to break the silence. It's not Naruto to act like this…

"You know what, never mind. It's okay"

A sound of disappointment escaped from Naruto's lips. The blond faced him fully with renewed energy, a hint of surety in his eyes.

"No! That's not what I…", Naruto inched closer enough to bump his knees on Sasuke's stretched legs, "Look, if we're doing this, we're going to have to have some rules. Boundaries"

"What, like safe words?" Sasuke said slyly, meaning to tease Naruto because he can and it's fun to see Naruto falter. It's so easy.

Naruto's glared at Sasuke but he also could have sworn Naruto's eyes also grew a shade darker. It's making Sasuke all sorts of antsy.

"Like?"

"First of all, we have to be open with each other. If something feels off or uncomfortable, we gotta speak out. This is not about pride, okay?"

Cleaning the house helped in clearing Naruto's mind and now, he's starting to get a hold of himself and be more accepting about the situation. It's far from what he expects their relationship to be but, you cannot expect everything to go your way. This is Sasuke and he's just happy that Sasuke is open enough to do this with him. So he takes it but not without some sort of rules for them to go by.

"And if it feels not uncomfortable?"

Sasuke the little shit is trying to rile him up, its some sort of unconscious defense mechanism that he probably got from Naruto, the blond knows it too well. He glared at Sasuke before coughing and went on.

"Next, WE use protection"

That's a no brainer, but putting it on the table this early is better than not mentioning anything at all. At least they're clear about that.

"Getting too ahead of yourself, huh?"

"What, you don't think about it?" Naruto had to give Sasuke a sly smile at that, because really, it's impossible for him not to. Not if he himself can't stop his mind from thinking about pushing Sasuke on to the mattress to claim him.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but halted, because okay, to be fair… he's not dumb enough to agree to something without an inkling as to what it entails.

"Okay, go on"

"Hmm and lastly, if there's someone we wanted to date, and when I say this, it means just the idea of wanting to date anyone, we'll stop…"

At this, Naruto established a more than intense eye contact, just to take his point across to Sasuke. The other man nodded in understanding and just like that, they both visibly relaxed.

"Hmm how about you? Anything you wanted to add?"

"Umm… no falling in love?" Sasuke scoffed, finding his joke a little funny even to his ears.

"Of course… haha that's just messed up" Naruto winced and laughed nervously not knowing what to do with himself. Obviously, Sasuke has no idea that he hit bulls-eye with that one.

On the other hand, something like hurt pinched at Sasuke's heart upon hearing Naruto laugh. It was supposed to be an offhand joke, but it hurts nonetheless, this dark headed young man didn't expect to feel upset at hearing Naruto's reaction.

"Okay… so? Seal it with a kiss?"

They've kissed before but it was not as awkward as this moment, when they're both in their right minds without sufficient alcohol to inebriate them and the haze of sleep to blame.

They both gulped, but unable to keep their eyes off each other.

"Uhh... How bout we just shake hands?"

A while ago, Naruto might have jumped in anticipation at the invitation to kiss, now, he's just tensed and self-conscious.

"Chicken"

"Who are –"

It was Sasuke who pressed his lips to Naruto. His hands fisted at the front of the others' shirt pulling him forward. Sasuke pulled back and was about to say something like "you're such a pussy" when Naruto re-connected their lips and pushed Sasuke back with a slow kiss.

Cold air caressed Sasuke's lips in contrast to the warm touch of Naruto's lips. He opened his eyes and saw Naruto's smug face staring at him.

"Who you callin' chicken, duck butt?"

If the fire in Sasuke's eyes is an indication that Naruto's in deep shit, then the way Sasuke is slowly creeping up on him is giving him a heart attack.

I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble, I'm in deep, deep, deep trouble, Naruto's mind supplied as he succumbed his fate to the mercy of one Uchiha Sasuke.


End file.
